The Valley People 


STELLA COLBY MEEKER 




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The Valley People 


STELLA COLBY MEEKER 





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COPYRIGHTED 1920 
•BY MRS. J. F. MEEKER 


DEC 16 1920 


©CU607435 


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DEDICATED 

To daughter Stella Katherine Meeker 
who inspired the story. 



THE VALLEY PEOPLE 

CHAPTER I 


The Woman’s Home Missionary Societies of the different 
churches have established industrial schools in different 
parts of our country where the need for them is great. The 
girls who attend these schools are taught Home Economics, 
music and agriculture, when their homes are in the country, 
and last and most important of all the religion of Jesus Christ. 
The far-reaching results of this work with limited means is 
almost unbelievable. These could never be attained if it were 
not for the blessing of the Master upon the fragments that 
are left from the loaves and fishes after the multitudes have 
been fed. These crumbs from the tables are the Bread of 
Life as well as food and raiment. How many more frag- 
ments they would receive if those who are wasting them 
thought of the good they would do if given to the Master 
for His use. 

Come with me far enough south to be called in the South- 
land, to a valley settled by people whose intelligence and 
ambitions were as great as that of our northern ancestors. 
The descendants of these people went backward instead of 
advancing with the rest of the nation, because they had spent 
their little all jn coming to new homes in this country. 
Slavery was king of the South. Slaveholders would not 
give these white settlers any work. They could not live 
near them, but were driven back from these wealthy settlers 
into the highlands and valleys remote from other settlements. 
They could not buy machinery to use in clearing the land 
and putting in the crops. Isolated from the world of helpful 
people, who would have given them work if they had settled 
in different states, they did the best they could with rifles, 
traps, hoes, spades and other small tools. Primitive tools 
these to wrest homes and comforts from the wildernes's. Far 
from railroads, those who settled in this valley, were shut 


4 


off by themselves. They did the best they could with their 
resources. Quite as well as you and I could have done under 
similar circumstances; Perhaps, as well as their Scotch, 
Irish and English ancestors could have done. 

Sometimes they grew discouraged and felt like plodding 
along, but received inspiration from a family by the name 
of McDonald. They were as poor as the others, but young 
]\IcDonald had walked from the valley to a school in Indiana, 
that he had heard of from a tourist who walked through the 
valley one summer. He worked his way through public 
school and college. He met a young lady there, who was 
paying her way by tutoring, and working for her board and 
room. They married at the end of college days, and com- 
menced their married life on the farm his parents had left 
him. It was nearly covered by timber. Through the years 
the struggle to clear and cultivate the land, and feed and 
clothe the little children that came, left little time for im- 
provement, but the mother made good use of that little time, 
for the desire to educate the children, and help' the other 
settlers to educate theirs was the incentive to prepare them 
for the school life that would surely be theirs if they were 
ready when the opportunity came. 

At last an opportunity came to send Tersa, the oldest 
daughter, to an industrial school. The lady who gave the 
money to pay her expenses wished her to go back to her 
community and give the years of her girlhood to teaching 
not only the children' but their parents. 

Time flew by until Tersa had attended school more than 
two years. You can imagine the consternation that filled the 
minds of the principal and this loved pupil when a letter from 
the North crashed their plans to the ground in what seemed 
a total wreck. 

The girls in the sewing class were working on their grad- 
uation gowns one morning, when Mary Dean entered the 
room with the startling announcement: “Tersa McDonald 
is going home at commencement time and is not coming 
back to school any more.” 

“Why, she is too!” “O'f course, she is coming back!” 
“She is a four-year girl.” “What makes you say that she 
is not coming back?” These, with other exclamations, that 


5 


were drowned in the flood of noise that swept over the room, 
stopped any explanation the speaker was about to make. 
Jennie Barr was the first to receive an answer to her ques- 
tion, “Why isn’t she coming back?” 

“Miss Love received a letter from Teresa’s lady. She 
said that circumstances have changed with her, so that, 
deeply as she regrets it, she cannot pay Tersa’s expenses any 
longer.” 

“Oh !” It was a long-drawn out exclamation of sympathy 
from every girl. 

“Tersa was crying when I went into her room before 
class time,” volunteered another girl. 

“Miss Love was crying, too. I wanted to ask her a 
question but when I opened the office door she was crying so 
hard that she never noticed me. I never saw her cry before.” 

Neither had the others. It was almost unbelievable that 
she had done so for she always wore a sunny smile. 

Finally Betty Colton voiced the thoughts of all after 
different opinions had been freely expressed: “It is just this 
way: Tersa was taking the longer course; if she had been 
taking the shorter one she would be ready for the work she 
can do, and not partly ready for that and for advanced work. 
Some way she will make good anyway. She is the most 
resourceful girl in school. Give her some of those stones 
that mark red and yellow and the top of a stump, and she 
could teach the common branches without any apparatus.” 

“She could do all of that, but this disappointment will be 
hard on her. We must do all we can to help her get all she 
can out of this last month of school,” contributed Mary Dean. 

Help her? Surely they would. It never entered their 
minds that there was any other way to do. The days were 
crowded, but they would always be. One of the great lessons 
they had learned at school was that of unselfish helpfulness. 

They smiled a welcome when the principal and Tersa 
entered the room. No questions were asked for they pos- 
sessed the fine courtesy that would not allow them to disturb 
their friend when she was striving for self-control. Any 
lingering hope that it was not true was dispelled when Miss 
Love took out the treasured bolt of fine white goods and 
measured off enough for a dress and handed it to Tersa. 


6 


This was the school’s parting gift to each girl. It was 
made possible through the kindness of a manufacturer, who 
gave a bolt of cloth to the school each year so that the girls 
could have a sheer soft dress for commencement and to take 
home with them. 

It was hard for the girls to keep from crying for Miss 
Love’s voice quivered in spite of her efforts to keep it steady, 
while Tersa seemed stunned, and her face had lost the look 
that had made them call her “the Shining One.” 

The memory of that morning and the talk the principal 
gave them lived with the girls throughout the years. She 
tried to conduct the class as usual, but the blow had fallen 
so suddenly that she could not recover her habitual poise. 
Tersa’s loss and her brave attempt to go on with her duties 
when her little world had suddenly swung out of its orbit ; 
and the loss to the valley people, who were trying their best 
to reach a higher plane, seemed overwhelming. The work 
would fail. If they had known this was coming, and pre- 
pared her to be a primary and intermediate teacher, in place 
of preparing her partially for that and more advanced work. 
Depression gripped firmly. Yes, Tersa would probably get 
discouraged and marry young, and what was the use of 
trying to do any more for her anyway. Into this murky 
gloom flashed the words : “The Angel of His Presence saved 
them.” Impatiently she flashed back an S. O. S. : “I think 
the Angel will have his hands full.” We who have had quite 
as impatient thoughts when not half as much was involved, 
can understand and sympathize with her, and feel ready to 
cry for the, loss of the other two years that meant so much 
to this pioneer girl. The Heavenly Father knew how sorely 
she was tried, and sent a vision to her mind of Tersa walking 
among her people with the Angel guiding and leading her. 
God was going with her, and it seemed that He wanted her 
to go back now. Returning courage brightened her face. 
She turned to her pupils : 

“Dear girls, let us kneel and ask Our Father for faith to 
believe this is His will, and for courage to go on with His 
work. We need special help this morning and He has 'it 
for us.” Everything was better after that prayer for “its 
just like Jesus to roll the clouds away.” They listened again 

7 


to the story of the Angel who would go with them through 
life, and sang as they sewed : “Content whatever lot I see 
since ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.” They talked about 
the pillar of cloud that departed not from over the Israelites 
by day, and the pillar of fire to show them the light, and the 
way wherein they should go by night.” This teacher knew 
they loved her, but did not realize the feeling of reverence 
her girls had for her. Every word of her stories would be 
reproduced by them, with her every inflection, when they in 
turn became teachers. She asked as a favor, if they would 
do a little extra work each day, so that she could have time 
to write letters to people in the North, asking for a little 
help. She wanted to. give Tersa more instruction in the 
theory of teaching. The promise of two days in the fields 
and woods with picnic dinners were ofifered as a compensa- 
tion for their extra work. Outings were a treat and each was 
anxious to learn more about the birds and flowers for they 
knew the folks at home would be glad to learn all they could 
teach them. 

The flock of letters that went flying to the North “like 
doves to the windows,” pleaded for things that would help 
equip them for better service. Some of them were answered ; 
others tossed aside until God compels an answer at the judg- 
ment. Parcels received, furnished outfits that would have 
looked pitifully inadequate to you or me, but to these girls 
they were an abundance to be carefully conserved for the 
Master’s use. If you could have seen their delight in the used 
textbooks, pieces of pencils, crayons, remnants from sewing- 
bags, needles, pins, scissors, paper patterns and odds and 
ends of leftovers you would be more careful what you burn 
or throw away. You would save and send more and the 
Master would bless the fragments and multiply; them in 
results. He would bless you for your thoughtfulness, and 
give you the hundredfold in peace and joy in this life. 


8 


CHAPTER IL 


Commencement passed. In each memory chest its events 
were cherished wrapped in loving thoughts, the pansies of 
the soul. While it was the first great event in these young 
lives it would not be the last for they were following the 
Angel toward others. The last month had been strangely 
happy in the atmosphere of unselfish deeds. 

Jennie Barr, Bettie Colton, Mary Dean and Tersa were 
to leave together. Mr. and Mrs. Barr came to attei.id the 
exercises. They arrived in a wagon drawn by a team of 
mules. This was the way they were expected to come, but 
their appearance surprised the girls for the mules were well 
groomed, and wore whole harnesses. Furthermore their ar- 
rival almost passed unnoticed for the wagon did not creak 
and groan, as if it had rheumatism. These differences were a 
delightful surprise. The girls dreaded trying' to get their 
men folks to fix things up the way the people who lived 
around the school kept their belongings. Now, the make- 
shift of harnesses tied with pieces of rope was gone, per- 
haps it would be easier than they had hoped. Jennie was 
as proud of that team and harness as her mother and father’s 
faces said they were, though they never mentioned it until 
the girls’ exclamations drew forth the remark that it looked 
right nice. 

When the time to start for home ’came the girls and their 
boxes filled all but the front seat of the wagon. They were 
used to crowding and had a jolly time until they had to 
say good by. They talked of their' work with enthusiasm 
as they admired the fields and woods. They enjoyed this 
their first ride in over two years. No college graduates whirl- 
ing homeward in Pullmans, or expensive touring cars could 
have been more hopefully confident of success. They were 
enthusiastic about using pawpaw seeds to teach numbers, and 
teaching domestic science over fireplaces with stumps for- 
tables. The first stop was at the Barr home, where all spent 
the night. The guests saw improvements in the home, but 


9 


as nothing was said about them, they asked no questions. 
Their work was the absorbing topic. Parents were inter- 
ested in finding out more about what the girls had learned 
than in anything else, before the early bedtime came. 

The next morning Tom Dean came, and surprise followed 
surprise for he drove a team of good horses and realized the 
impression they made. He smiled at the girls’ admiration, 
and finally chuckled as he saw their puzzled expressions when 
he remarked in an ofifhand way: “Some class to them.” The 
expression and the ease with which he used it were a won- 
der. There was some joke that the Barr’s and Tom en- 
joyed together, but the girls paid little attention to it for 
it was so hard to’ say good by. They comforted each other 
with the promise of the Divine Comforter, and the Angel 
who would lead each of them, while God would be back 
of them as He always had been. Jennie and Tersa would 
be alone as far as school friends were concerned, but Betty 
and Mary lived quite near each other. They looked forward 
to friendly visits. Betty was the next to reach home, and 
five miles farther on at the Dean farm Tom McDonald was 
waiting for Tersa. He had a new wagon. 

“Quite smart,” Mary Dean told him, determined that one 
boy should not get the start of them. 

“They’ll do,” he remarked laconically, “though I prefer 
a gas wagon for larger loads.” 

“What next? What does it all mean?” they asked each 
other, and agreed that the sooner they found out the mys- 
tery the better they would be pleased, though the folks would 
have to do the explaining. Changes in the Dean home were 
for the better. All were in good spirits during dinner for 
the family were so glad to have Mary back, and pleased to 
have their guests that each minute was filled with fun and 
laughter. 

Parting from the last one of the girls was almost more 
than Tersa could stand. She would be so far away from 
all of them, not in attual distance, but with the slow ways of 
travel, it would be impossible to see them often, if at all. 
She felt like walking back to school and begging to stay. 
She looked longingly toward the trail over which they had 
come, then bravely turned her young face away. The school 


10 


was not her home any longer, and she could never go back 
for poverty would shut her in with her people as the moun- 
tains separated their valley from the outside world. She ban- 
ished sad thoughts and left smiling. Little was said by 
brother and sister for some time for Tom felt a little un- 
certain about her feelings, and she was striving to keep the 
tears back. She did not want any of her folks to know how 
sorry she was to leave. Finally Tom commenced to tell her 
little items about the neighbors, and she asked questions about 
the children. 

“Hetty must go to school as soon as we can arrange it,” 
she said. 

“Reckon she can, but you can teach her this year.” 

“I will teach her all that I can this year, but there may 
be no scholarship money next year.” 

“She has kept on studying since you have been away. 
We study at home like we used to. Did you bring any 
more of those magazines? We hoped you would.” 

“A bundle of them. Miss Love sent four to you. She 
said you were interested in subjects in them.” Tersa’s old 
sunny smile flashed forth. If the family was so anxious for 
these, her work was well started. They chatted about a 
series of articles that had been in the Sunday school paper 
until they reached home shortly after dark. It was a com- 
fortable log house, none too large for the^ eager family that 
crowded around the wagon giving Tersa such a loving wel- 
come’ that she was glad to be with them. 

What a good supper they had! Mother always made the 
meals taste right, even if ^here was little variety, but to- 
night there seemed to be a variety. Stranger still the table 
was covered with a white cloth. The plates, knoves and forks 
were in neat array, and a glass of milk stood in the proper 
place beside each plate. This was a surprise for a bare table 
with few dishes had been what she was accustomed to at 
home. 

They were watching her to see how she liked it. At her 
exclamation : “How fine you are ! How did you learn to 
set a table like this ?” They knew that everything pleased her. 

“You told us how in a letter and sent a little drawing of 
a table you set. We sold berries to some people who camped 

11 


near here last summer, and bought these things. Does it 
look as nice as yours?’’ asked Hetty. 

“A little nicer for we are all here,” answered Tersa, be- 
ginning to realize how dear the home folks were. 

“We are glad that you feel that way,” approved her 
father. 

Little Rose explained: “We always say the- grace that 
you said at school every evening at supper time.” 

Reverently the family repeated in unison the little poem of 
Thanksgiving : 

“We put our trust in Thee and give to Thee our praise. 

For Thou hast been our help through all our busy days. 

Our song shall be of Thee when evening hours draw near. 

While through the night till morning light 

Thy love will keep and cheer.” 

Soon after supper a tired and happy Tersa was sent to 
bed for she had dropped to sleep as she was listening to the 
conversation. She could scarcely keep awake long enough 
for the prayer of Thanksgiving for the pleasant homecoming. 

The sun was shining when she heard little Rose singing : 

“When I wake with morning light, thank you for your 
care all night. 

Help me to be good and strong and to serve you all day 
long.” , . 

Sunrise of the first day at home. As Tersa glanced 
across the room she noticed the furniture. 

“Where did you get this furniture? It is beautiful. 
Whose is it? It is all curly.” Hetty enjoyed her sister’s 
mystification quite as well as Rose who was laughing roguish- 
ly as she watched her. 

“It is ours,” Hetty answered. “Knowing the traditions 
and rules of the House of McDonald you surely did not 
think we would borrow our neighbors’ goods to make (he 
house attractive for the daughter’s return from college. The 
wood is curly maple. It grew in our woods. The trees were 
felled by son Bob, made into lumber suitable for its present 
use by the combined efforts of different members of the fam- 


12 


ily, and last and most beautiful process of all, it became fur- 
niture under the skilled hands of the aforesaid Bob.” 

‘‘Bob make this? He couldn’t! There is no more beau- 
tiful furniture in this country. The finish is like satin. There 
were a few pieces of elegant furniture in the reception room 
at school. It was given to Miss Love by an old lady who 
had been yery wealthy. It is rare and costly. This is as 
well made as that and the finish is newer and smoother. 
Where did you get it, Hetty?” 

Hetty had enjoyed the surprise quite as well as she had 
thought she would. She answered sedately : ‘Tt is all true, 
though it reads like a story. I shall gO' down and tell the 
maker the nice things you have said about it, but omit the 
remark discrediting his ability to do the work. Some of 
the members of this family do not properly appreciate his 
ability, so please say something kind to him about it when 
you come down to breakfast.” 

“That dressing table is for you to use,” Rose told her 
before she followed Hetty. She did want to stay and hear 
what was said when she read the card attached to it, but 
her share of the work was waiting and she could not stay. 

As Tersa . looked at the dressing table she read a little 
home-made card attached to it: “From the family to Tersa.” 
She could scarcely believe that her family could give her this 
elegant gift for when she had expressed a wish for a chair 
like the ones at school. Miss Love had explained how rare 
and costly such furniture is, and told her of Henry Ward 
Beecher, who once said that he could enjoy all the beautiful 
things he saw with no anxiety about them. The owners had 
the care and worry while he enjoyed them as much, or more, 
than they did. Tersa had accepted the implied lesson and 
made up her mind to do the same./ Now, her wish had come 
true when she had given up expecting its fulfillment. It 
was just the way the northern people had things. A cousin 
of one of the teachers had received a beautiful writing desk 
when she graduated. It was just like other folks did. She 
ran down stairs and told the folks about it after she had 
thanked them heartily. 

“I was going to coax you boys to help us girls make 
some kind of a one for our room, and we have one fit for a 
palace.” 


13 


“Or the White House,” remarked Jim, who thought the 
White House better than any palace. 

“Please tell me all about it. Bob,” coaxed Tersa. 

“There isn’t time,” reminded her mother, “there is a busy 
day ahead of all of us.” 

The family separated after family devotions and Tersa’s" 
first task was to help her mother with the poultry. It was a 
treat to be out of doors, and she stepped gaily onto a large 
porch that was something new. It was as large as a living 
room should be, and shaded by grapevines. 

“This is where we do all of our work that we can in 
warm weather and store wood in winter,” explained her 
mother in as matter of fact a way as if she were explaining ar- 
rangements to a guest who had never seen the place. She 
knew this was the best way to speak of the changes and im- 
provements that had been made, for she wanted her daughter 
to take the surprises easily, without much excitement. 

Tersa stared at the yard when she started for the poultry 
house. 

“Pretty nearly as good as the school grounds?” called 
Jim as he passed with a team on the way to the field. 

“Wait till I can find words to tell you about it,” she an- 
swered whirling around trying to see in every direction at 
once. 

Everything was changed. The garden was well kept. 
Flower beds along one side bordered row after row of vege- 
tables in a space much larger than the old garden had cov- 
ered. A fence made of branches of trees fastened like pickets 
to a framework of larger limbs surrounded it. Beyond this 
was the grove where the pigs used to be supposed to stay, 
though it had kept the children busy chasing them , out of 
the garden into it. Now it was fenced with a fence so tight 
that the littlest pig could not slip through it. She looked to 
see what else was new, and saw a large barn and cow stable. 
Beside these large poultry yards with neat houses scattered 
over them attracted her attention. The buildings were of 
planks. The old sheds were gone, and these well-kept yards 
and buildings surrounded by trees luxuriant in summer green 
were even better than the ones she had visualized when she 
lay at night looking out into the darkness and planning the 


14 


improvements she hoped to have made on the farm. And 
the orchard ! Such an orchard left nothing to be desired. 
The old trees had been whitewashed and trimmed; new ones 
had been set out. Everyone was loaded with fruit. Cherries, 
ready to be picked, while peaches, pears, plums and apples 
covered other trees. 

“Why, mother, that is the best orchard I ever saw. This 
is the prettiest place in the world. There couldn’t be an- 
other as pretty. Such buildings ! It is an up-to-date farm. 
How have you done it in so short a time?” 

We always ‘ looked forward to the day when we could 
have our farm like those back in Indiana. When you cnil- 
dren were little the land had to be cleared. It was slow 
work, but the boys were doing their share before you went 
away. They cut and piled all the fencing up, and planned it 
as a surprise for you when you came home. There were no 
other definite plans, for it had taken all we could raise to 
feed and clothe the family. Miss Love gave Tom a large 
bundle of Sunday school papers and another of magazines 
when he took you to school. Some of them were agricultural 
papers. The 'seeds you sent from time to time and those 
papers revolutionized our ideas. There is not anything about 
the farm that something in some paper has not helped us to 
improve, or make over. The dear Lord must have put it 
into someone’s head to send them to Miss Love. I asjc 
Him to bless and help the one who did, it every day. It would 
have taken years to accomplish all of this without this help. 

“It seems like magic. Everything is done that I hoped, 
to persuade you to do.” 

“You helped. You always described the new ways you 
were learning, and we followed your directions. I think Miss 
Love had more than one object in view when she had you 
write such careful directions about your work. Composi- 
tion, spelling and those things were important, but she saw 
the value of giving, us help through your monthly letters.” 

“She must have. She is such a wise woman. I wish she 
could visit us some time.” 

“I think we can arrange for that later. She would enjoy 
seeing how her plans have worked out. The vacation would 
do her good and it would benefit the valley. It is a help 
to meet the best people.” 


15 


“Turkeys!” No wonder the exclamation popped from 
Tersa’s mouth like a shot from a gun, for the grove they 
had reached seemed covered with turkeys, large and small. 
“Where did you get all these turkeys?” 

“Your father and the boys found two flocks of wild ones 
two years ago. They read an article that told how to domes- 
ticate wild fowl. In place of shooting them, they caught 
and brought them home. They have increased to nearly a 
hundred and more are hatching now.” Turning to another 
yard, her mother explained that the geese and ducks had been 
raised from settings of eggs of the wild fowls that the chil- 
dren had brought home from the woods. '“They read about 
woodcraft in the Sunday school papers, and no one had a 
better wood than they to practice in. They asked us not to 
eat the eggs, but to set them. Most of them hatched, and 
our flocks are large.” 

“Whatsoever He doeth shall prosper,” repeated Tersa. 

“Yes, the blessing of the Lord has been upon the worx 
of our hands and brains.” 

“We can help the neighbors to learn your ways, can’t we? 
Or won’t they care to do better?” 

“They all care a great deal about doing better. We have 
helped them as much as we could and they have helped us. 
They are helping themselves now. You can help us for we 
have much to learn. Money is rather scarce, but there is a 
strong spirit of neighborliness. The old easy going, dis- 
pirited way has left the valley. Do you know that verse in 
the Bible: “Then helped everyone his neighbor?” That is 
what the people are doing now. All of us are journeying 
toward the Heavenly Promised Land through our earthly 
Promised Land with the Pillar and Cloud leading us.” 

“Mother, I am so glad. You won’t think I wanted to shirk 
if I tell you that I felt as if the work here was too hard 
for me, as if I needed more education and experience to do 
my part.” 

“Dear child, no. It has been all that the rest of us could 
do to carry the load with the Lord carrying His half. Don’t 
think for a minute that the -Heavenly Father was going to 
put work on you that you could never do. It looks as if 
He did that sometimes with people, but He doesn’t. It is 

16 . 


the shirkers who will not do the share of the work He ap- 
portions to them, who place ‘burdens grievous to be born’ 
on the shoulders of tired workers in His harvest field.” 

“How could you do so much in the time I have been 
away?” questioned Tersa, accepting her mother’s views un- 
questioningly. 

“With God’s help. When He finds people willing to be 
lead He leads them rapidly. When people are like the Israel- 
ites and try to work crooked politics and frivol their time 
aping the heathen round about them, they don’t make prog- 
ress in the right direction. Selfseeking is not known. All 
of us have worked for the good of the whole.” 

“When did you start the big changes in your way of 
doing things?” 

“Right after you left. We missed you so that your father 
had his mind made up to go and bring you back the first 
Sunday. He changed it for we wanted all of you children 
to go to school, and felt that if we took away the chance 
God had sent. He would not send another. The other chil- 
dren must be provided with a way to go. We did not want 
other people to pay their ways. We should have preferred 
to pay your way, but we could not at the time and dared 
not refuse the offer.” 

“You felt as if it was charity to have some one else pay 
my way ?” 

“Yes, till Mrs. Braisdale convinced me that we are sis- 
ters in Christ Jesus. Then I felt better about it, but I am 
glad we can help the others ourselves.” 

“Tell me more about the way you started to do these 
things.” 

“Come and help pick the strawberries. There will be a 
good canning of them today.” 

“Enough berries of our own to can?” 

“Yes, and plenty to have at meals two or three times a 
day now, with an abundance to sun preserve. We can by the 
cold process method.” 

“I shotild think we have,” gasped Tersa, as she looked 
over the big patch, “sun preserve and cold process ! Wher- 
ever did you learn to do those things?” 

“Where we learned everything that we did not learn from 
the Bible, or your letters, in those blessed papers and maga- 

17 


zines. They explained the way so clearly and illustrated each 
with pictures, so that we couldn’t fail. You will not see any 
preserves cooked down the way we used to cook them.” 

‘‘Please tell me more,” coaxed Tersa, picking berries 
rapidly. As that was what her mother had brought her out 
there for she lost no time starting the story. 

“The Sunday afternoon after you left I took the Bible 
out on the porch to read to the others. I opened it at the 
lesson on the fragments. Others speak of it as the loaves 
and fishes, but the fragments mean so much to us, ever since, 
that we speak of it that way. Some way God helped us to 
see there were fragments that we neglected to use. We talked 
with the children about getting educations as we had never 
talked before. They had not known that I believed a way 
would be provided for each of them to go to school. They 
did not need urging fof they wanted to go, in fact, they made 
plans that would help them to prepare for it. They suggested 
ways and made plans to use fragments of time. If, Hetty 
or I would read to them at meal time they would read to us 
evenings and rainy days, and study a little every day. Hetty 
thought she could teach Rose, and give me more time with 
the older ones. She and Rose agreed to do part of the work 
you had been doing. That gave me time to make and carry 
out better plans. When a woman works too hard she can- 
not plan well. 

“Your father had left the teaching to me, because the 
outdoor work required all his strength. Finding that the 
boys were interested he told them about college days. You 
know Tom asks searching questions. After he had listened 
awhile he asked his father why he had never taught them. 
This was such a surprise that he did not know how to an- 
swer. I suggested that his work had been very hard, and . 
the boys ofifered to try to do more of the work if he would 
help them. While he was considering that ofifer I told them 
about the two prizes he won in college. 

“Jim spoke up quickly, ‘You were a bright fellow like 
that and took prizes in the subjects that we want to study. 
We are talking of going out of the valley this winter to- work 
our ways through school because we want to learn about those 
things.’ He didn’t want those boys to leave the valley, and 


18 


he came out of his shell and got to know them and their 
ambitions. It was good for all of them. He promised to 
teach them through the fall and let them go to school dur- 
ing the winter if we could think of a way to get the money. 

‘‘Summer is always a busy time, but some one of us read 
to the others at mealtime, and a part of it was something we 
read over until it was memorized. We talked over all that we 
read. Rainy days were devoted to study. Work outside of 
the house and inside was reduced to the minimum. The neigh- 
bors came regularly Sunday afternoons, and enjoyed the 
readings from the Bible, with the comments different ones 
made, and the readings from papers. 

‘‘We had music. The ofd hymns did sound sweet as we 
sang them out in the yard to the accompaniment of Mr. Stan- 
ley’s violin and Jphnny Clinton’s mouth organ. One of the 
boys expressed his appreciation of these meetings by saying 
that we were getting like other folks in other places. That 
set us to thinking, and we knew that we had to get a good 
deal more like the other people to keep those boys satisfied 
to stay in the valley. 

“We talked with our own children to find out what they 
would like to do. They did not seem to have many plans, but 
the wishes they expressed enabled us to see that there must be 
concerted action on the part of all parents. Afterward we 
learned that it was shyness that kept them from telling a 
plan all of them were working on. ^ 

“Our crops had seemed to be our only source of income, 
supplemented by wild game and fruit. Better ways of using 
the latter were found, and none goes to waste. This gives 
the boys money of their own. There are many fragments 
that we are using to bring our hearts’ desires to the com- 
munity.” -Nothing more was said for a short time as the 
berry pickers were too far apart. 

Later Tersa asked about the Sunday school. “Is Sunday 
school held in our yard yet?” 

“No. We meet nearer the center of the valley, as that 
is more convenient for all. Can you tell us some new ways 
of teaching, or new things to do to make it more interesting?” 

“Perhaps I can.' Miss Love gave each of us somedittle 
folders with the words and music of several new songs on 


19 


them. She said that the d^y would come when we could 
have music and it was well to be prepared.” 

“The young folks will like that. They have hoped you 
could help them out with some new songs. You are not to 
take a class yet, but to be a helper who makes suggestions 
to teachers and tells them how to introduce new ways. That 
will help them more than if you took a class.” 

“I believe that is the best way, for my plans were to 
start from the beginning, and the beginning is finished. You 
have no lesson leaves, have you?” . Tersa did not know why 
she asked the question. She did not really expect her mother 
would answer in the affirmative, and was surprised when she 
said: ‘‘Yes, we have lesson helps and Sunday school papers. 
More could be accomplished that way.” 

“Well, I wonder what next!” Tersa ejaculated. 

“Her mother smiled as she answered : “There are a few 
other things, but you have heard enough for the present, 
and the girls are coming to help us. The crop is large; did 
you ever taste better berries?” 

No, indeed. Where did you get the plants?” 

“In the meadow. They are the old wild ones. Their 
size is due to cultivation, but they have the same flavor that 
they had when wild. The best flavor in the world.” 


20 


CHAPTER III. 

One day Mrs. McDonald suggested that a ride to the 
postoffice would do them good, and the girls and their mother 
rode over in the light wagon after the dinner work was 
done. Tersa had been brought home another way and she 
was glad to get out from behind the grove that shut off the 
view from their home. She was unprepared for the changes 
she saw when they left the grove. 

“Why, mother, where are we?” 

“Down by the Blair and Clinton farms. Surely you 
haven’t forgotten them.” 

“No, but those large buildings. What are they?” ‘ 

“I think that you must be looking at our new community 
school house and church.” 

“I must, if you have them.” 

“You are not dreaming them. They are right there,” 
Hettie assured her. 

It didn’t seem as if they could be real, but there were 
father and the boys when fhey reached the buildings, and 
they were very real. 

“Come, schoolma’am and see that little fireplace and stump 
you have been planning to use to demonstrate new methods,” 
said Jim: 

Tersa joined in the laugh -for the mental picture that she 
saw of that stump and fireplace was absurd beside the large 
building. It did not seem as if this could belong to her peo- 
ple. She followed them as they took her from room to room 
in the basement, then over the first floor, and finally to the 
large auditorium that covered the second floor. They called 
her attention to the slate blackboards that were placed all 
around the walls of the schoolrooms ; the home-made book- 
shelves in the little library; the comfortable seats and desks; 
the arrangement of the windows to admit good light and 
fresh air ; the cloak rooms and closets ; the furnace in the 
basement, and all that made the buildings better in every 
way than those at the Industrial school. She couldn’t say 

21 


much for the surprise was too great, but she was delighted. 
Her folks were satisfied that she appreciated everything, and 
seemed to think even more of it than they did. 

“Now, what do you like best? I hope you say the black- 
boards for they were the hardest to get, and are the best 
quality on earth,” suggested Tom. 

“Say the stove, Tersa. Say it is that big, fine range and 
the cords of wood in the basement,” urged Jim. 

“Speak for the library,” insisted Bob. 

“It’s all of them. There is such an abundance of every- 
thing needed that I can’t choose. I want to take them all 
in my arms and hold and stroke them.” 

“Some armful,” commented Tom. 

“What you have done is wonderful, and how much more 
I can help you do is wgnderful, too.” 

“You are surprised, aren’t you? We wanted you to be 
surprised,” said Rose complacently. 

“Surprised!” echoed Tersa. “Yes, I think I am surprised 
enough to satisfy all of you. I feel fairly stunned. I had 
dreamed of having a school building something like this in 
fifteen or twenty years. It is so much nicer than my dream 
building that it seems another dream.” 

She stopped and looked back at the building after they 
passed into the yard. 

“The buildings are made for twenty years ahead,” ex- 
plained her father. “Some of the boys are going to learn to 
work in concrete, and then these rough plank walls can be 
covered with that. The heavy timbers will show, but that 
was intended. A small building would have been crowded 
now. It would have been unwise to build it when there is 
timber on every farm that is good for this purpose. We did 
not see it that way at first, but finally all of the people were 
of the same mind, and this is the result.” 

The church was another surprise. It was a sanctuary. 
The words: “The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the 
earth keep silence before Him,” came to Tersa as she looked 
at the well-made seats and the finished walls. A beautiful 
pulpit held her attention. 

“Some more of your work. Bob?” 

“My offering to the Lord,” he ans-^vered gravely. 


22 


“It is a wonderful offering.’^ The walnut was polished 
until the gra'in was brought out in perfect markings in the 
satiny finish. There was something about it that made it 
seem to hallow the room. A carved angel on the front seemed 
to have life in evety line. The face looked so familiar that 
Tersa soon saw that it was a reproduction of her mother's. 

“Doesn't mother love this best of all, and appreciate your 
tribute to her?” 

“She doesn’t know that it is her likeness. Don’t tell 
her.” 

“Not tell her? Why not?” 

“Never mind -why, just don’t.” No further explanation 
could be secured, and she was left wondering what it was 
that made her mother so indifferent to Bob’s great work, 
for Tersa knew in her heart that her brother was a genius. 

“Well, this is the end of a perfect day,” Tersa sang that 
evening, while the family hummed an accompaniment and Jim 
played softly on his violin. The moonlight shone on their 
faces and the yard was more beautiful than in the sunlight. 

“How did you do. so much in so short a time? How could 
you? You are the most complacent folks over the finest 
buildings, and you act as if it is a matter of course for 
you to have all of these improvements, and the Deans and 
Barrs acted the same way. I can’t act matter of fact about 
it. I feel as if the year of jubilee had come when this ran- 
somed sinner returned home.” 

“It is a year of jubilee for all of us. We shouldn’t like 
it if you did act matter of fact. If you had accepted every- 
thing with an air of ‘Oh, yes, quite fine, but only what I 
am accustomed to,’ we should have been disappointed. We 
meant to give you the surprise of your young life, and we 
think we swept you off your feet,” exclaimed Tom. 

“Well, you did. Tell me about it, father.” 

“It was this way. We held community meetings once 
a week after we became interested in reading together and 
talking over what we read, and planning to make practical 
use of some of the things we learned. Your mother talked 
schoolhouse to the women and girls whenever she saw them. 
They grew enthusiastic and talked it over at home. They 
soon had the men folks in line and commenced plans for a 


23 


small building as soon as we could get around to it. A 
small one didn’t appeal to your mother, and she had us all 
dissatisfied with it before we had really started to cut logs 
for it. The work commenced that winter, so that the lum- 
ber would be well seasoned, then our prompter imbued us 
with the idea that we might be able to get a teacher before 
your four years were up, so we went to it and made a busi- 
ness of getting the timbers ready. Logs seemed to be what 
it would be built of until we read of a home-made sawmill. 
Finally the plans were made for the mill. It was built and 
a millrace made by the river. We had a regular fourth of 
July feeling the day we run the first lumber out in good 
shape. The boys brought their ingenuity to work and planned 
a planing mill. Rough lumber would never do for the inside 
finish and seats. Our ready money was gone. The women 
and girls came to the rescue with a double wagonbox full of 
sun dried corn and fruit. This inspired the boys to have a 
hunt. We had stopped hunting more game than was 
needed to supply fresh meat, because we wanted to pro- 
tect the animals. This seemed to be an emergency, so we 
lifted the ban, although all were careful to avoid needless 
killing. The hunt was a success, and the boys felt that they 
had stood by their mothers and sisters to the best of their 
ability. The skins and meat sold for a good sum, and the 
fruit and corn brought more than was expected. The surplus 
was used for hardware for the buildings. That mill has 
done good work ever since it was made. 

“The work went on. Everything that could be made, was 
made indoors in a big building we had built during winter — 
that is the next winter. Doors, window frames, etc. Early 
last spring building commenced in Earnest. We had to work 
in shifts a week at a time nn account of our farm work. 
Jim had everything figured out, and as so much of the lum- 
ber was sawed ready to be nailed in place the work went 
forward rapidly. It speaks well for our boy that all of his 
measurements were correct and nothing had to be chaneed. 
The buildings are well made, sanitary and comfortable. The 
furniture is up-to-date, although it was made in this out of 
the way corner where the rest of the world never goes by. 
Everything is ready for you to commence your work next 
week. You had better train the older girls for the first two 

24 


weeks, then have the smaller ones come. You will have your 
helpers started with less delay than if you tried to start all 
of the work at once.” 

“I shall be glad to begin as you wish, and I will try t6 
do work as good as you have been doing.” 

“Never forget to keep your mother for your inspiration, 
as she has been ours. She never became discouraged, but 
it seems to me that she literally pulled the rest of us up on 
a higher plane.” 

“I will remember, although I do not know how she did it.” 

“It’s a way she has,” explained Tom, grinning impishly 
at his father. 

“Tom has a theory that mother manages all of us without 
appearing to do so.” 

“Nothing like mother’s way; some diplomacy,” chuckled 
the oldest son. 

Tersa was as surprised at the familiarity that existed be- 
tween father and sons' as she was at the other changes. They 
had always treated their parents with loving respect, but she 
had seen Jim trip her .father, and Tom untie his mother’s 
apron strings, and then gravely advise her about forming 
habits of tying knots securely, while she had listened atten- 
tively and thanked him as she gave him a handful of cookies, 
that he was maneuvering to slip from the pan she was placing 
them in to cool. None of them would have thought of doing 
these things in the old days. 

“This is the way she did it. She studied the plans given 
in the different papers, then Jim drew plans that suited them 
better than those in the papers. You know he could always 
draw. He drew a picture of the way the buildings would 
look when finished. They used them for the talks she gave 
at community meetings. She told us that the schoolhouse 
should be larger than we need now, not smaller, for we 
should be able to hire teachers in a few years ; that we had 
time to build a large one now, and we would all be much 
busier when we needed to enlarge a small one. It was bet- 
ter to use our trees for building purposes, than to cut them 
and pile them until a convenient time came. Our land was 
needed for cultivation, and would be productive if cleared. 
Always remembering to use conservation methods, and re- 

25 


serve the woodland we should need. She made us see a 
vision that came to her one morning of the valley people 
engaged in their avocations, anad everyone doing a part with 
no time to waste. ‘If we do not get the material ready and 
build now, it will take years later to accomplish what can be 
done in a short time now, for our boys and girls have al- 
most reached their opportunity,’ was the remark that closed 
one of her talks. It was the last word, that was needed. 

“None of us had given the subject of sanitation much 
Lhought, but with Jim’s help she presented the subject of 
sanitary and unsanitary buildings. Queer that the article 
that helped us understand it the most came from a Sunday 
school paper. A sanitary building it must be, for our romp- 
ing, healthy children must not become sickly because of un- 
healthful conditions in their schoolhouse.” 

When her father paused Tersa asked her mother if it 
was hard for her to get the others to see as she saw. 

“No, for they all wanted educations for themselves and 
their children. Every family was anxious to learn all they 
could by study and discussion, and they wanted to send the 
children to a school so that they could learn more, and teacn 
what they learned in school at home evenings. Father and 
I have been teaching the growmups and they have taught 
their children ; now they want the order reversed in a meas- 
ure. Your father is real proud of his men pupils.” 

“Mother looks real well satisfied when she speaks of the 
progress her women pupils have made,” Jim supplied. 

“We both feel that we have done what we could. It was 
your mother’s courage that kept us up to the mark. It has 
been hard work to keep the farms going and be earnest stu- 
dents at the same time. The valley’s oile big bill has been 
its kerosene supply.” 

“It furnished light in more than one sense,” Hettie added. 

“We’ll cut that down by furnishing electricity,” Jim con- 
fided. “Honestly our fathers and mothers used to sit up 
and study an hour or two extra every evening for a week 
before there was to be, a match.” 

“What kind oJ a match?” 

“Oh, any old kind. Spelling bee, geography race, history 
contest, ciphering match. They had them every month. Talk 


26 


about reviews! Once in a while our respected parents stayed 
up more than the extra hours.” 

“Did they always win?” 

“They did not. It was no one-sided contest.” 

“The others are as good students as we, so it was a fair 
race. One would win in one contest ; others in another, but 
there never was a contestant who carried off all the honors. 
They were quite evenly divided.” 

Hettie who had enjoyed listening said: ‘T never shall 
forget the evening when mother sprung the plan for cutting 
the timber for the church while they were cutting for the 
school.” The others laughed, and their father said: “No 
one else had thought of building a church for years. The 
second floor of the school seemed to be the place for religious 
services as well as for all other gatherings.” 

“Why wouldn’t it have done?” questioned the eager lis- 
tener. 

“I believe that if we would have God’s house reverenced 
it should be sacred as a house of worship. Those who were 
the most enthusiastic in working to have the church used for 
other purposes, are now deploring the lack of reverence the 
present generation shows for the house of God. They are 
not the ones who are to blame for they , were never taught 
to hold it sacred.” 

Hettie resumed her narrative : “Mother said that it would 
mean harder work and more economies to build the church. 
Even if the prosperity of the valley continued, and greater 
prosperity came, it would mean years of hard work before 
we realized our hearts’ desires. 

“Neighbor Johnson said that while the plan was new to 
him, he gave it hearty endorsement. He suggested that a 
name to live up to- would encourage our best efforts, there- 
fore, let us name the valley. He thought that Prosperous 
Valley would be a name that would be appropriate for what- 
soever we had done had prospered, and as hitherto the Lord 
had helped us, we had reason to believe that He would hence- 
forth. Surely the Lord would bless us if we thought enough 
of Him to build a church when the assembly hall had seemed 
to be all that was required. 

“Our leader caught the enthusiasm and had us turn quick- 
ly to: There Shall Be Showers of Blessing.’ Everybody 

27 


joined until the countryside rang. The feasibility of the plan 
appealed to them, and the thought of honoring God appealed 
still more. There was no need of laying it on the table until 
the next meeting. It couldn’t have been kept on the table 
if a weight had been put on it. When the decision was 
reached to take up the work at once the boys jumped to their 
feet and yelled: ‘What’s the matter with Prosperous Valley?’ 
Tt’s all right.’ The valley’s good enough for us.’ ” 

Mr. McDonald took up the story at this point. “They 
commenced to sing, T’ll Stay Right Here and I’ll Never Want 
to Roam,’ then they made us a proposition. They wanted a 
club house of their own. Think of it ! Before you went 
to school those boys had not known anything -about clubs, 
but that first bundle of Sunday school papers told about 
them, and had some good stories about things that happened 
in them. They read' those papers in tatters and copied those 
parts and read them to shreds and then they knew them by 
heart. They made drawings of things the boys had made 
and constructed articles with these for guides, but they never 
breathed the word club before us grownups, until they fol- 
lowed 'your mother’s example and took the meeting by storm. 
They offered to work hard for the school and club if we 
would deed them a site for a club house and give them time 
to work 'on it. They have a fine club house.” 

“It surely is like other folks,” agreed Tersa. “I have 
heard so much that it seems as if I can’t settle down to teach- 
ing. .1 want to teach, but I want to see all the improvements, 
and hear each one tell how the changes were worked out.” 

“Each in its order and each in its place,” quoted Rose. 

“Yes, that will be the best way, and the new helps appeal 
to me. It will be like a Christmas box to see and use them 
all.” 

Mrs. McDonald sighed. “You will have little to do with. 
I wish we could have a real library and the maps and ap- 
paratus needed.” 

“Mother, dear, we are better equipped in some ways than 
they are back at the school. They haven’t as good black- 
boards, nor half as many. The scrapbooks you made would 
cost a mint of money if we had to buy them. The other 
things that the boys have made are as good as any that are 


28 


for sale. That peck of pawpaw seeds that Rose and the 
other children gathered and cleaned will be such a help in 
teaching number. I think they must have learned while they 
were getting them ready.” 

“We did. We learned how to make pint and quart meas- 
ures from pasteboard boxes, and to count hundreds and hun- 
dreds,” acknowledged Rose. 

“Geography will be more interesting if we can make a 
home-made pantograph, and enlarge some accurate maps that 
I drew.” 

“There is one at your service that I made to use in my 
work as architect,” volunteered Jim. 

“Is there anything that you haven’t made? If there isn’t 
perhaps we can use directions I brought. Our school will 
be the best equipped in the state before long. That kitchen 
with its fine range is the greatest surprise of all. I am glad 
to have the honor of starting the school. I was sorry that 
I had to come away. I thought I should have to work all 
alone and knew I was not prepared for it. I should have 
remembered that God makes everything right when we trust 
Him. It commenced to seem easier when Tom told me on 
the way home how much the papers helped, then when you 
said my letters had been teaching you, I knew everything 
would be all right. Today in the schoolhouse that verse from 
Esther came into my mind : ‘And who knoweth whether thou 
are not come to the kingdom for such a time as this.’ God 
must have wanted me to come, so that the others could make 
better progress in their studies now when they need my help 
most. I am so glad I am home. It is the dearest place in 
the world.” 

The family had dreaded the effect disappointmeift might 
have on Tersa. They gave expression to their relief in dif- 
ferent ways. Jim woke the echoes with his wild halloo; 
Tom assured her that she was needed more than she real- 
ized, and they would all stand by ; Bob remarked in a mat- 
ter of fact way that he would make a desk like her dressing 
table for a Christmas present for her; Rose and Hetty hugged 
and kissed her. Her mother cried on her husband’s shoul- 
der. These tears were the first her children ever saw her 
shed. When she felt the relief that comes from nature’s 


29 


way of relieving overcharged feelings, ^ she explained the 
strange occurrence. 

“I have been foolish to think you would miss all the 
things we can’t have. I might have known God was leading 
you. You haven’t changed a bit, you are the same sunny 
tempered, unselfish girl who went away.” 

No wonder Tersa gasped. Praise of this kind was un- 
known, and she had always been so interested in her duties 
that she had thought nothing about her own disposition. 


CHAPTER IV. 


Weeks passed merrily. The girls were doing their 
parts as student teachers. They liked this work so well that 
they were sorry to give way to the next shift, for it was 
necessary to have them take turns in doing this work so 
that it would not interfere with their own studies and recita- 
tions. 

When Miss Love learned how large the classes were, and 
that the girls were assisting in teaching, she sent normal 
training lessons and helps to teachers. She wrote : I see 
that you will be dean of a much larger school some day if 
the valley is planning to have a school of higher learning. 
Your people are the sturdiest, most self-denying lot of Amer- 
icans that I have sent- a teacher among. You cannot irnagine 
my surprise when I learned that they are living in their log 
houses, when they have mills and could make the lumber 
from their own forest trees for beautiful homes. The reason 
they are doing this fills my heart with a song of praise. Do 
you realize how much it means to you to have parents who 
deny themselves as yours are doing to build a schoolhouse 
that they can be proud of twenty years from now? And 
that church ! When I showed those pictures and drawings 
that your brother Jim had made to a visiting bishop from 
the north, he told me to send all the helps I could for you 
would be leaders in the state and nation at no far distant 
day. He said he should tell the story of the use you have 
made of the papers and magazines wherever he had oppor- 
tunity. He was confident that more people would respond 
to the appeals for literature, when they understood what 
these had done, with the blessing of the Master. It gave 
him a new line of thought. It is this, that the reason the 
work done in home mission circles has not always resulted 
as it was expected to do, is because the settlers do not know 
how to do better than they were doing. That it is a duty 
of the church to see that they receive the study helps they 
need. Selling good reading matter to the junkman is a waste 
that must be stopped for ‘The Lord hath need of it.^ 

31 


“I wish I could accept your mother's invitation to spend 
a month with you. I need the rest, but I cannot leave now. 
The girls who have entered school recently have not had the 
same home influences that you girls had. This makes the 
work harder, for there are no older girls to help me as you 
did. 

‘T sent your mother’s letter to the lady in the North. 
If she had been able to keep on with her work, she could 
have given more money to our school, but I really believe 
she has done more by sending out the literature with her 
prayers. It was all she could give, and how our Master loved 
and blessed the gift. I am. mailing a magazine that has been 
in a cupboard for a year, because I thought no one could 
make use of it. It contains directions for bringing pure 
water into the houses. It seems as if your boys can put 
in' a system of waterworks at little cost. Surely those busy, 
intelligent mothers need it. 

“Tell the boys to study out that electrical article. 
Wouldn’t it be great if the valley could have a home-made 
electric system and waterworks? 

“It will give your parents many more useful years if 
it can be done. Don’t let them overwork until they lose 
their usefulness in their best years.” 

The- effect of the letter was electrical. The young peo- 
ple were so enthusiastic about it, when it was read at com- 
munity meeting, that they took up all the time devoted to dis- 
cussion. Tom finally voiced the sentiment of the boys when 
he said : “Three years ago we thought we had nothing but the 
few acres cleared for agriculture, the wild fruit that we 
gathered for home use, and the game we shot for the home 
table. Now, we know that we have comfort, and perhaps 
more than comfort, for all the people of the community if 
we conserve and use the fragments all around us. Some of 
them are of immense size, when we really take a good look 
at them, so large in fact that all the baskets in the state 
could not contain them. Our parents have put our interests 
first. They have said they must do for their children. Now, 
we answer back that the children propose to take a hand in 
doing for them. 

“The tractor, with the farming machinery that it operates, 
means one-tenth of the work for the men folks, and much 

32 


less than they used to have to do for the women folks. If 
we look at only one kind of work that it shortened, look at 
the short time we spent threshing. Now, if there is some- 
thing else that will make labor lighter, let us turn our atten- 
tion to that, and see what can be done. Mr. Chairman, I 
move that these magazines are turned over to John Tim- 
mons, and that he ask other boys who have a turn for me- 
chanics, or any other subject that will help in studying this 
out, to study with him and report as soon as possible.” After 
the motion was carried he added: “None of us fellows could 
enjoy school if we knew that our being away made life harder 
for our parents.”, 

“The rest of us fellows feel, the same way about it, so I 
say to our committee, 'Go to it.’ ” 

The fathers and mothers felt that teaching unselfish serv- 
ice to their own had brought back a blessing. 


33 


CHAPTER V. , 

Tersa sang all the way to school the next morning, and 
had the pupils sing an extra song at the opening service. 
The reason her joy bubbled over was because the boys had 
assured her that if they, could make the thing go, the school 
and church should have systems installed. Then there was 
another reason. * She had given up all thought of ever going 
away to school again, so you can imagine her surprise when 
her parents told her at the breakfast table that they intended 
to see that she attended school again in a few years. 

“We hadn’t intended to say anything about it yet,” ex- 
plained her mother, “but since Miss Love wrote what she 
did about you being dean of a college some day, we talked 
it over and thought that as our plans have worked out quicker 
than we have expected them to, it might be as well if you 
knew what you are expected to do. Then, too, you ought to 
study a little in order to be thorough. Father and I can help 
you do more advanced work.” 

Tersa sat speechless. None of them knew how she had 
accepted as inevitable the thought that poverty would shut 
her in the valley, as the mountains shut it in from the outside 
world. 

Mr. McDonald broke the silence: “We talked of keeping 
you there. We could have done so if we had not built the 
church and school house, bought the community tractor and 
made the other improvements. It took all the money we 
could raise to pay our share. The boys wanted to givg you 
their sayings. We felt they could not afford to wait for 
their opportunity.” 

“The way to raise the money for your expenses may 
trouble you a little,” suggested her mother, “so we make this 
proposition. If you know of some way that helps us to get 
better prices for our output, or if you teach us how to make 
articles, or to do better with the fruit and vegetables that 
we prepare for sale so that they bring better prices, you 
shall have your share to lay away for your schooling fund.” 


34 


“I can’t take it in that I shall ever gO' to school again. 
I gave all of that up to come back and help the others. You 
must not sacrifice more for me.” 

“It will not be sacrifice. You must find your fragments. 
It will come from the value of your services to the com- 
munity. If your knowledge of prices of a better market 
help us to make more money you are earning your share. 
You cannot do any more work than you are doing. You will 
not receive wages for teaching, because you are passing on 
to others what was given you. Others who go away will 
have to pay their own expenses. The help you give them 
as a teacher will make those expenses less, for the better 
they are prepared the less time they will have to spend away 
at school.” 

“I can’t take it in yet. I don’t want to go away to school 
now. I am glad to do my part. I like to think that I am 
the pioneer teacher and that the work of education is mov- 
ing on faster because I am here now. Possibly in future years 
someone will say : ^Well, who was that first spinster who 
taught here. She didn’t know very much about teaching.’ ” 
* After the laugh this remark caused had died away she re- 
sumed: “I am proud to be that first teacher, but more proud 
of my family, for they started the valley on the way to suc- 
cess. I can’t think of anything I can do to start my fund, 
but there must be something. The Lord never failed when 
you two made up your minds that something had to be done. 
By the way, mother, Hettie told me the price paid for that 
load of sundried corn. The dealers made a big profit on 
that. I wrote Miss Love for the address a lady left with 
her. She promised a market for all the sundried corn as 
good as that you sent the school. i She was so fond of it 
that she ofifered four times the price you received.” 

‘T guess you’re starting your fund all right,” remarked 
Tom. 

Tersa joined in the laugh at her expense. She had not 
thought of her share in the proceeds when she mentioned the 
better market. 

‘‘You children seem to find your fragments close at hand,” 
Mrs. McDonald said. 

“When they are such whales and monster loaves we don’t 
deserve credit for seeing them,” deprecated Jim. 

35 


‘‘I wish you would tell me about your fragments,” sug- 
gested Tersa wistfully. “I feel shut out from your plans. 
There is something going on all the time that I don’t know 
anything about. I know about the community plans, and 
other boys and girls tell me theirs, but my own brothers and 
sisters are mum about theirs. Winter is coming on and I 
don’t know any more about them than when I came home.” 

“We are willing to tell you, but mother advised against 
cramming that small head of yours too full. You see that 
if you were always taking in information, and never giving 
any out, your head would burst. The great idea has always 
been to develop our powers of thought and study, so you 
are being developed mentally according to the old family 
recipe,” and Jim was away before his brother could shoo him 
out of the door. 

' “Suppose you take Tersa to the club house and tell her 
this evening. She has waited patiently to see it and you 
ought to be ready to show it to her now,” advised their 
mother. 

“What I was about to suggest,” answered Tom. ^ 

“Do!” urged Hettie. “She can’t tell anything about the 
arrangements, or see how it looks if you don’t take her there 
till the opening night, and she needs to look it over to get 
material to use in her speech.” 

“What speech?” 

“My dear sister, did you think you could be a guest at 
the club’s first reception and not make a speech? One is ex- 
pected from you on every occasion, if we are' short of enough 
occasions, we’ll make some. You must compliment the boys 
on the beauty of their work, the heighth of their aim, and 
the good that their club life will accomplish,” and Jim’s head 
was withdrawn from the door in time to dodge something 
aimed at it. 

“You make the speech. You can do so much better than 
I,” Tersa answered. 

Hettie stopped the banter by pointing at the clock and 
asking if this were a holiday, or was the work to go on as 
usual. 

“All right, domestic science expert, but you better learn 
to make speeches, too, for you are on the program for the 
second open night.” 


36 


“I feel as if it is two holidays, but I’ll work. O, how 
hard I’ll work,” and Tersa started to school. 

The ride in the crisp air in the starlight was a rest and 
invigoration. The confidential talk with Tom that had been 
promised made the excursion seem “just like other folks 
have,” which was Tersa’s dear ambition. To have her folks 
have good times and do good deeds was what she loved best. 

The club house was located some distance from their 
home, but near other homes. It was a commodious building, 
made of logs with split shingle roofing. Large porches, or 
galleries were all around it. The dining room, kitchen and 
work rooms were in the basement ; offices', library and other 
rooms occupied the first floor, while the second was given 
over to dressing and rest rooms, and the large auditorium, 
with its comfortable gallery extending all around it. 

After they had gone over it, Tom built a fire of pine- 
knots and hickory chunks in the library fireplace. They sat 
before it .in two home-made easy chairs that were comforta- 
bly cushioned and covered with fur on the back and seats. 

“We will talk first and look around again after the others 
come,” Tom explained, “we are going to try out something 
new this evening. What is it you want to know, little sis?” 

“Just what you want to tell me of your plans. When 
you sent me to the shelves in your room for that book on 
chemistry, I saw a number of books. They made me think 
you must be doing more studying than you could do at home. 
I hesitated to ask about it, but I should like to know.” 

“I shall be glad to talk it over with you. Our folks 
thought that there were so^ many changes for you to see and 
hear about that we had better put off telling you about some 
of them until you became used to the new conditions, and 
at home in your work. The changes came suddenly after 
you left, and they kept us busy. We would talk over what 
to tell you first, and how much to keep as a surprise, and 
the time passed along and we never decided what to tell 
and what to keep secret till you came home. Then when 
your letter came saying you had not much time to write 
because you were doing twice the amount of studying that 
you had done before you found you were to leave, it seemed 
best to wait till you came. We boys could hardly give up 


37 


a plan to keep you there the full time, but it seemed best 
to father and mother to let you come home and teach. I 
believe they were right, but Jim and I were not convinced 
of that until we saw how the work went forward by leaps 
after you took hold. It didn't seem fair for you to have 
to give it up, and we thought you would think it was not 
fair to have to come home when you had been promised two 
years more of schooling, while we, who are older, were to 
keep on at school." 

“You don’t believe that I feel that way now, do you, Tom? 
I prayed every evening that you all could have the chance to 
do what you wanted to do for yourselves. Are you attend- 
ing an agricultural school?" 

“None of that in mine. Do you remember what mother 
used to tell us about our great uncles, who were college 
professors, and grandpa, who was a minister back in Scot- 
land?" 

Tersa nodded : “Yes, that was what made me want to be 
a teacher in a girls’ college some day." 

“Mother told us often that our grandparents were edu- 
cated people and wanted their children and grandchildren 
educated. Father’s uncles were in the commercial world. I 
thought a great deal about those great uncles of ours, but 
more about grandfather. I made up my mind before you 
left home that I would get all of the education I could and 
some day I would be a minister. After you left I thought 
more about it, and how the time was passing, though I did 
study and memorize every book we had. 

“One day we took the big wagon and went nutting with 
the children. It had the double box on. When we started 
to take it off the littler ones begged to have it left on because 
it seemed like riding in the cars. We left it. If they im- 
agined that riding in it was like riding on the cars, we wanted 
them to have all the fun they could get out of it. 

“It seemed to me that I couldn’t go on the way I had been 
going any longer. I wanted to make better headway toward 
going away to school. I stopped under a tree and prayed : 
‘Oh, Lord, I want to preach the gospel to people in this state 
who haven’t heard it. I would like to be better educated, 
and I wish I could start to school this winter. If I may 


38 


go, show me the way/ Just as true as you hear my voice 
speaking to you a voice seemed to speak right beside me : 
‘Look in your hand and around you. Here are your frag- 
ments.’ 1 stared at the nuts in my hand and at those on 
the ground. ‘Gather up the fragments, let nothing be wasted. 
Go, and my peace shall be upon you, and blessing, I will 
make you a blessing,’ the voice added. , 

“ ‘Thank you. Lord, ‘I’ll do it right away,’ I promised. 

I climbed into the tree and shook it so hard that the nuts 
rained down. The noise attracted the others, and they ran 
to see what I was doing that for when the ground was cov- 
ered with them. When the last one had fallen that I could 
shake down, I dropped to the ground. The youngsters 
watched me, and Jim knew that something had happened. 

“ ‘What did you do that for?’ was all he asked. 

“I told him all about it. He listened and all the answer 
he made was : ‘Good thing wasn’t it that father took tne 
cart and we had to bring the big wagon. There is a pile of 
bags in it that we can fill after the double box is full. 
See here, kids, Tom has found the fragments that are going 
to give him his chance to go to school this year. Pitch in 
and help him and we’ll all help you.’ 

“Pitch in they did and the work seemed to jump right 
, along as easy. The team pulled the biggest load home that 
night that they ever pulled from the woods. What was the 
best way to get them to market? We couldn’t figure it out 
that night. There were so many nuts in the woods. 

“The next , morning our answer came up the valley in 
the shape of an auto truck. The men were making their 
first trip. It was for the purpose of engaging produce or 
anything else that they could buy and sell. They wanted the 
nuts as soon as they saw them, and wanted to engage more. 

I told them 'we could fill their van every week, if they were 
willing to pay the market price for them. They hadn’t ex- 
pected to find anyone who knew the market quotations. I 
had learned it the evening before. They talked and talked 
and were determined to get them for a little of nothing. I 
told them at last that they could pay it, or leave the nuts. 
They paid it, and agreed to take all we would sell them. 

“Marketing thern that way meant saving weeks of time 
in hauling them to market. 


39 


‘‘Father’s eyes kept asking all the time: ‘What is it, son?’ 
After they were gone Jim and I talked it over with father 
and mother, and asked their advice after I had told my story. 

“Jini explained that we wanted as good an education as 
he had, and as our ancestors had had. We knew the others 
wanted one, too. They said that God was leading us and 
,the only thing to do was to follow. They had been impressed 
with the thought that we ought to go to school each year, 
but couldn’t plan a way. They promised to do all they could 
to give us time to harvest the nut crop, for it was my chance 
to help myself. We gathered tons of the nuts. Rakes and 
other tools were used to speed up the work. Sometimes 
father and mother went along and took food and cooked 
dinner over an open fire. 

“I was to go to the Stratton High School. The way came 
for Jim to go, too. The folks decided that it would be bet- 
ter for us to get rooms and board ourselves. We could take 
practically all of our provisions from home, and not put in 
as much time cooking as we would have to put in working 
for our board. Before we could get away to look for rooms 
Charley and John Speer, Joe Drew, Ben McAllister, Chester 
and Billy Robinson, Albert Sims and Greg Mcllroy were 
ready to go, too. We didn’t need rooms, it was a house we 
had to have, and we got it. I’ll tell you more about that 
later. 

“I believe I am called to be a minister, and that I can do 
social service work better than if we had not had it to do right 
here. What do you think ?” 

“I am so glad you have chosen the noblest work in the 

world. I am proud and thankful. You will succeed. It 

wouldn’t have 'been planned out for you by our Heavenly 
Father if it was not your work. Friends here have been 
telling me what a leader you are among the other young men 
and boys. That will be a help to you when you are in a new 

field. We will do our part so that you may have a fair 

chance to prepare for the future. I do' hope I can get away 
long enough to hear you preach and meet your congregation. 
Aren’t you glad that our folks taught us? Do you remem- 
ber, when we were little, how they kept us from learning the 
uncouth speech of the valley people, and had us teach the 


40 


children we played with to use nice words? I am glad father 
and mother went to school in Indiana. Supposing he hadn’t 
found mother and brought her here, but had married some 
pretty girl who did not care for books. She has been a 
blessing. I always think of her as a ‘light to lighten the gen- 
tiles.’ She surely has been an incandescent lamp in this val- 
ley. How they love her.” 

They sat silent for a time looking into the future. Tersa 
broke the silence : ‘T am so glad we had this talk. We shall 
miss talking with you when you are away.” 

“You can talk to us. I’ll tell you a secret. Some of the 
boys are almost geniuses. They have been working on a 
telephone system. If we had more money it would not be 
hard to put one through from here to Stratton, but we will 
put one through with little expense, then you can talk to us. 
Some boys are going from every family this year. We have 
renled a big house just outside the town limits. The line can 
emi there without paying anything for the privilege. If we 
lived in the center of the town the company would not allow 
our line to enter. They don’t own the country rights yet, 
and McAllister is working to get them for us before they 
get wise. Don’t write to anyone about it, and don’t get the 
habit of talking about it until we give you permission. You 
might make us lose our rights if you did. The line is far 
enough from the roads so that the produce fellows can’t give 
it away.” 

“You will have a large family to plan for,” Tersa ven- 
tured after they had dropped the subject of the telephone. 

“Yes, but we are trying to plan wisely and be fore- 
handed. A fresh cow and some poultry are to go along, 
and furnish fresh eggs, milk, butter, cottage cheese and all 
the other fixings we can manage to make that our folks don’t 
bring us. Someone plans to come every two weeks with 
supplies. As there are several families, or so many families, 
it will just be a treat for the ones who are lucky enough to 
get to come, and it will be a treat for us to see someone from 
home so often.” 

“Yes, I used to want to see some one from home, but it 
wasn’t much use to wish for it. What is Jim going to be?” 


41 


“I think he will tell you when he has the chance. Jim 
is a genius. He will become famous while I am making over 
my obscure corner.” 

“Maybe you will be famous, too. You know what the 
bishop said about Prosperous Valley? How much longer shall 
you be in high school?” 

“I finish this year. You see father and mother helped 
prepare me for it, and helped me during vacations. O, here 
comes Jim and the others. We are going to try out that 
part of the line that is finished.” 

Time passed pleasantly as Tersa talked with other girls 
who had come with their brothers. Finally she was called 
to try the telephone. 

“A lady wishes to speak to Miss McDonald,” announced 
the boy at the board. 

“Hello, Tersa, how are you this evening?” 

“Why, Mary Dean, is it you? Where are you? I must 
see you right away.” 

“At home, to be sure. Where else would I be at this 
time in the evening? We have not reached the dignity of a 
club house yet in this valley, but we are coming to borrow 
the pattern of yours.” 

“Do get one right away, I am sure they will lend you the 
pattern. You don’t know how good your voice sounds. How 
is your school getting along? Do you like it? Have you 
heard from the other girls?” 

“Everything is all right. The children are eager to learn 
and are doing well. I hear from the girls once in awhile. 
Our boys are coming over to see that club house of your 
brothers very soon. I heard them accept an invitation this 
evening. I think I’ll coax my brother to bring me along.” 

“Yes, do, Mary,” said Tom over Tersa’s shoulder. “We 
are asking them to come for Friday evening and stay till 
Sunday afternoon. Tersa and I speak for Dick and you to 
stay with us. Tell all of the other fellows to bring their sis- 
ters and we will give them a good time.” 

“There is so much more I wanted to talk over — ” 

“Never mind, you can talk when she comes over, and the 
line works all right' to their place and a few miles beyond. 


42 


You can talk together often if someone else doesn’t want to 
talk at the same time. Don’t tell the others who we talked 
to.” 

“Why not?” 

“Just don’t, that’s why.” 

“Can I talk to Miss Love?” 

“No,' I am surely sorry to say that you can’t. The line 
doesn’t go in that direction after it leaves Dean’s, and re- 
member, it’s a secret.” 

‘T’ll try, but it is hard to remember everything in this 
modernized valley. 

“Pretty good valley, and tolerably up to date, considering.” 


43 


CHAPTER VI. 


The open evening at the club house was ^ social affair on 
a larger scale than the valley people, and most of their guests, 
had ever taken part in, but they made the occasion the suc- 
cess that years of training in society’s ways could not have 
made better. There had always been a fine courtesy among 
these people, the courtesy founded on the rights of others. 

The young minister had arrived unexpectedly and was 
given as cordial a welcome as if his room was' ready, and 
his support assured. He entered into the spirit of the even- 
ing, and gave a talk that won the hearts of all. He told them 
what he had expected to find. The bishop sent word that 
he was to come at once before the effects of an attack of 
pneumonia had destroyed his chances of restored health. 
“He told me that I must see conditions before I would believe 
them ; that the surprise of my life was in store for me. That 
made me think everything was in bad condition. I came 
prepared to coax little children to learn their first lessons ; 
to persuade boys that an education is a necessity, while I 
wondered what course to updertake to help the girls of the 
community to become interested in study. I find a cultured 
people; a valley awake and making gigantic strides toward 
higher learning. I have been treated with the finest cour- 
tesy, and the welcome you have given me makes me want to 
stay right here and claim you for my people, for your God 
is my God. 

“The youthful school teacher expressed diffidence in 
regard to the work she is to do. It is a great undertaking, 
but there must be a strong public sentiment supporting her 
that will help bring success. I marvel at the thought of one 
so young doing what she has undertaken. Your community 
life in this secluded place gives you confidence to follow the 
Star as the wise men did. The health-giving climate has 
made you strong with a strength that will endure because 
your hearts and lives are pure. I am forgetting my regret 
at leaving school during my last year; forgetting the wrench 


44 


it gave to give up work in the slums of a city where Christ 
is so needed ; wondering that I could think it a hardship to 
come away ofif here to work for my Lord. Perhaps I shall 
not feel that it is so great a hardship to be unable to go back 
at commencement to graduate with my class.” The young 
man said much more than this for the valley had reached 
out for him, and claimed him for its own. He knew his lot 
was cast in a pleasant place with a man’s job before him. 
An earnest prayer for the blessing of the Father upon them 
in their new relation came like a benediction. 

He slept with the boys on fur rugs around the fireplaces 
in the big assembly room that night, and his sleep was the 
most restful that he had known. The boys stayed at the club 
to make room for Lhe girls in their homes, and because they 
really wanted to spend a night there. 

Mary and Tersa stayed awalce to talk over all that had 
taken place since they parted. After Mary had told all about 
her nook in the world, and Tersa had answered the many 
questions she asked about her corner, Mary said: “To think 
that we all felt so sorry and cried, because you had to leave 
school and not be able to do very much excepting teach the 
younger pupils. Here you are teaching pupils nearly as 
advanced as you were, and you have the best equipment, 
a schoolhouse and church, clubhouse, telephone and electric 
lights assured. It was a surprise when thei boys switched 
on those lights tonight, and put out those jolly big candles.” 

“It was a surprise to the rest of us. We knew they were 
working out dififerent plans but did not think they were so 
far along. They haven’t had the magazine long that told 
them how to use the waterpower to run the lights. We did 
not expect them so soon. One of the boys told me that they 
wired the clubhouse and got it ready and are leaving full 
directions with the boys who stay at home, so that they can 
carry on the plan. Each home can have its lights installed 
as soon as the fixtures can be secured. They are going to 
wire the schoolhouse and church right away.” 

“You lucky girl. If you could see my little schoolhouse. 
It is so rough and small and only part of the children can 
attend school at a time. I mean to create a sentiment for 
something better.' You farthest away people shall not have 
so much more than we have five years from now.” 

45 


“The way your crowd asked questions of our bunch to- 
night I think you will take home a strong sentiment that will 
insure the improvements before the time you mentioned. 
Your people have more ready money than ours because they 
have saved it and have had more cleared land to get crops 
from.” 

“Yes, they are saving it to build frame houses next spring 
and summer. When are the folks here going to build new 
houses ?” 

.“Not at all, excepting for the few who marry. As early 
marriages are not favored now, it will be some time before 
there is a new house.” 

Mary turned abruptly, sat up in bed and looked at her 
friend. “Do you mean to tell me that with the buildings 
you have, your folks and the other folks will be contented 
to live in log houses?” 

“That is precisely what I do mean to tell you. The houses 
are well made and the drainage is good. We have a builder 
in this place who had been an architect in a southern city 
until his health failed. He came here for the pure air from 
the mountains. He swapped work with the farmers. They 
helped him put his crops in ; he helped them plan and put up 
their houses. They are sanitary. Additional rooms will be 
added where needed. Bathrooms and other modern conve- 
niences will be put in. When we are prepared to improve 
our homes the intension is to cover the walls with brick or 
cement, or else to finish them up in a little better shape and 
stain the outside. Many may add larger galleries, but there 
are too many precious associations connected with them for 
new ones to be built in their places. Our people transmitted 
their love for their old homes to their children and may it 
be handed down to the next generation.” 

“I’ll have to think all of that over. You chose the public 
buildings, so can we. Our homes are pretty good. I believe 
our folks could be persuaded to do as your folks are doing. 
Probably the only reason they wanted new homes was because 
they thought their children wanted them. We did, too ; we 
wanted them like everything. Maybe we will all change our 
minds before we go home.” 

“We are going to show your crowd all over the valley ; 
take them to the different homes, and have a dinner after 

46 


the community meeting in the afternoon in the schoolhousei 
Our second floor is a community room that seats a large 
crowd. I believe that when our plans and the reasons are 
given, your crowd will go back a unanimous delegation to 
work for community centers first.” 

“I hope so and I am going to pray that they will.” 

“That is the way we got our start. Prayer has done more 
for this community than anything else. Mother prayed for 
a way for all the children to get educations, and for the im- 
provement of all the families ; that the children would be a 
blessing to the community and reverence the older genera- 
tion.” 

“She did more than pray. Some of them were telling 
about her tonight. Folks 'say they owe everything to her 
efforts to start them in a new way to self-improvement, and 
to getting them so interested that they wouldn’t step out of 
that way for a fortune. She worked hard for others.” 

“O, yes,” agreed Tersa. “Mother never was a lazy Chris- 
tian who expected the Lord to hand out educations and 
everything she wanted for the valley without any effort on 
her part. Do you know, I think it hurt her a little at first 
to have some one else pay my way to school and she is just 
as thankful as she can be that when I go away to school next 
time I can pay my own way.” 

“Back to the Industrial school?” 

“No, I am going to keep on studying here and I believe 
I shall be prepared for college when I finally start to be a 
pupil again.” 

“Tersa, how old do you think you will be by that time?” 

“Don’t know. Depends on how long it takes to get other 
girls prepared to teach. Several leave for the old school the 
first of the year, and are ready to pay their own expenses. 
I shall be old enough to prepare to do what I am called to do. 
You know I am to go down in the valley’s history as the 
spinster who taught our first school.” 

“Yes, I think I see you. Tell that to the girls. You will 
marry and have a family of your own.” 

“That’s all sheer nonsense. I haven’t time to think of 
such a thing. My pupils and my other interests here are 
enough to fill the mind of one mortal woman. Your proph- 

47 . 


ecy is doomed to fail for my work is my calling. Here it is 
five o’clock and time to get up and we haven’t slept a wink. 

“The day will not be half long enough ; such a wonderful 
day it is going to be.” 

The visitors enjoyed the , novel experience of being car- 
ried around the valley in wagons attached to the tractor. 
They were given the question hour that was a feature of 
each meeting. The discussion was carried on beyond the 
hour for they asked many questions. Plans were offered 
them and anything else that would help them in initiating the 
new enterprise they were determined to carry out. They 
were enthusiastic about everything, but the boys insisited 
that a tractor and machinery should come first in order to 
give them time for the extra work. 

“We’ll show you next year when you come over that we 
are making good. You folks have been real friends and 
treated us royally and we surely appreciate it.” 

“Are you going to wait a year to ask us over?” Some 
of the boys seemed to think that the visiting girls were worth 
calling on if they lived near enough. 

“There isn’t a building big enough to hold a crowd but • 
come over in the spring and we will show you a good time 
at a barbecue in the grove where we hold our gatherings.” 

“You can count on us.” 

The evening was spent quietly in the homes for the 
custom' of a quiet evening in preparation for the Sabbath 
was the delight of all. 


48 


CHAPTER VII. 

Gerald McClintock, the young minister, was startled that 
first morning when he saw the church filled with a crowd of 
earnest worshippers. He felt the reaction that comes when 
one is keyed to heroic sacrifice and finds there is no sacrifice 
required. He had realized that it was a well organized 
church, when he met with the members Friday evening and 
Saturday but the full significance of progress that had been 
made did not dawn on him until he faced them from the 
pulpit. He knew now that he should have to study condi- 
tions ; make over, or adapt his plans to the needs of a con- 
gregation well advanced in the Christian life. The music 
was a surprise. A perfectly conducted orchestra, similar to 
the one King David led, for the players were really prais- 
ing God with the cornet, violins and other musical instru- 
ments, lead the congregational singing. He had heard good 
music all of his life and could not account for this orchestra . 
back among the mountains. Soon he would know of the 
leader who left a career to come to this place seeking health 
for a loved wife. How he felt that any opportunity was 
gone forever, but felt repaid by the return to health of the 
one who had been his inspiration. Opportunity was waiting 
for him and lead him to walk along the river bank in the 
shade one Sunday afternoon. Some of the boys were under 
a spreading beechwood trying to play on a violin and a cornet 
to accompany a lad who was making music bubble out of a 
mouth organ. When the boys stopped to rest, the longing 
they expressed to be able to get some decent sounds out of 
their instruments made him step forward, sit down with 
them and play. They talked it over. Master and pupils had 
met and progress was rapid from that time and the old fiddles 
in many homes were found to be of unsurpassed quality. 
Other instruments were taken out of places where they had 
been laid away ; new ones were being added gradually. 
Genius and application brought results that pleased the leader 
and made him see that he had been sent to the valley to teach 
these lads. He planned to send two of them out to go into 

49 


' more advanced work when he had done all he could for them. 

Sermon time came. Surely the text had to be changed, 
for the minister had prepared the sermon from one he had 
used in the north. He had thought of these people as wan- 
derers away from Heavenly things, and ignorant of the Bible. 
The wanderings of the children of Israel furnished the sub- 
ject and the text fitted sinners who hadn’t repented and been 
saved by grace. 

“The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I 
have a goodly heritage,” were the words substituted. Per- 
haps in no other way could the barrier of reserve been swept 
down so completely as it was by the boy pastor who told 
them of his life, the work he had been doing, and of that he 
had planned to do. He won their hearts completely when 
he told them how glad he was that the Leader of His people 
had guided him to them. He asked for their prayers and co- 
operation in the work they were beginning together. It 
was like one of their own lads coming to them and talking 
things over and each family made loyal response to the ap- 
peal for help. 

“We will have a church too,” announced the visitors. 
“This service was the most helpful of anything we have 
heard. Where can we' get a minister who will be so glad to 
come. Our folks have written a few letters in regard to a 
settled worker, or preacher, and the answers read as if they 
thought we were calling them to a hundred miles behind the 
lines of civilization. Maybe Mr. McClintock can help us to 
find one.” 

“Be sure to ask him. You heard how he felt about com- 
ing here. The others were no better informed. I hope some 
one will be ready to answer the call for service without having 
to face the loss of health. You need a strong man for your 
work.' We shall soon have our man so strong that he can 
undertake any work needed.” 

Mr. McDonald extended an invitation to the parents of 
their visitors to come and see what had been done. 

“In behalf of all, I am delegated to invite your parents 
to come over next Friday and spend the week-end. The 
program will be similar to the one carried out for you and 
end as this will, with a community dinner. I hope that it 


50 


will prove a blessing to your families and I know it will to 
us. There is nothing more helpful than meetings of God’s 
people when their hearts are filled with love and praise. We 
cling to the custom of having dinner together on Sunday for 
two reasons. It saves the work of each family going home 
for dinner and requires less preparation. The second is that 
we spend the day in service and rest and there is no hurry. 
We must join in sending the gospel to the other settlements. 
We have had two crowds here from the lower valley and 
West mountain. They became interested and have started 
the work. They are glad of our used lesson helps and papers. 
When the dominie is stronger we intend to lend him to them 
for a Sunday. As it is, a gospel team goes once a month 
and holds services and counsels with them.” 

“Where does this work extend ?” thought McClintock. 
“I am expected to go and hold a service for these visitors 
some day, and another at each of these other places. I shall 
have to be a combination of deaconess, pastor and district 
superintendent all in one. How the work takes hold of my 
very heart strings. I love this eager multitude, receiving the 
Bread of Life, and passing it on, not in fragments, but a full 
supply.” 

Again time flew by and Gerald McClintock smiled at the 
preconceived notions he had entertained of his flock. He 
had expected to find it a rough, illiterate flock needing several 
shepherds and a few good sheep dogs. He stepped briskly 
along the walk that lead to the community buildings. He 
V ns comparing this with the muddy footpath he had expected 
to find. It was another evidence of thrift and forethought, 
for the stones and gravel that filled it were intended for a 
foundation for the cement walk the boys intended to make 
later. The whimsical smile at his own mistaken notions 
changed to a gentle one as he thou*ght of these people so 
anxious to hear the word. Unconsciously he commenced 
whistling “I Love to Tell the Story.” The words singing in 
his mind to this accompaniment were: “For those who know 
it best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.” 
They did love to hear the story, and with God’s help he would 
tell it to them so that it would never grow old, but continue to 
be their joy until they reached the unseen things above and saw 
Jesus and His glory. So engrossed in his thoughts was he 

51 


that he entered the assembly hall and was standing near a 
window looking out toward the Heaven above when he was 
aroused by a chorus of whistling. Turning he saw that 
the hall was filled with a company that was whistling in uni- 
son. Sweetly and clearly the notes soared. “God’s orches- 
tra,’’ he called them in his mind. When the last clear note 
died he stepped onto the platform and prayed that the love 
of the Saviour would help them to do their best for Him. 
No other opening numbers were needed for they were ready 
for service. He made a proposition that seemed to come 
straight from Heaven for the help offered was so opportune. 

“Now that the other settlements have secured pastors 
my time can be given to you, my people. My work as a pas- 
tor is lighter in many ways than is the case in most pastorates. 
I do not have to devote time to the finances of the church; 
the officers you elect are efficient; I do not spend time trying 
to increase my congregation, because everybody comes to 
church ; precious hours do not have to be spent trying to 
coordinate the different church activities for you did that. 
In short, the pastoral work is about three-fourths lighter than 
is usually the case. This gives me spare time to devote to 
other work. I have been watching the school with interest. 
My own studies and the work in outside places has kept me 
busy, or I should have offered to become an instructor. Miss 
McDonald has organized and conducted the school in a cred- 
itable way. In doing this she has shown not only resource- 
fulness and ability, but daring, for she is doing the work 
that at least three teachers should be doing. While her physi- 
cal strength is as superb as her mental and spiritual, she 
can not keep up through the years unless she is relieved. 
None of you expected her to change your world as she is 
changing it. She has worked out an unexcelled system. 
If she can be relieved of all duties excepting the training 
the girls for teachers and the work of being at the head of the 
Home Economic department, she will still be doing double 
duty. I wish to offer my services as teacher of her most 
advanced pupils. I believe I can do this and in no way 
decrease my efficiency. Three recitations a week are enough 
for pupils of that age, especially when they are so eager to 
learn that there is no shirking. I will hold classes three 
evenings each week for those who are taking high school 

52 


subjects. They can study at home and bring their difficulties 
to class. If Mr. and Mrs. McDonald and I work together 
we can fit these students for college. The conditions here 
in the valley are ideal for study. Influences are of the best; 
the stimulation of being at home and helping carry out com- 
rnunity plans will be an incentive to do their best ; the fresh 
air^ and wholesome food will keep their health unimpaired. 
Aside from that, expenses will be less, and better colleges 
can be selected when they are ready for them. I do not wish 
to interfere with the plans of those who' have arranged to go 
to high school this year and next. It is time for you to 
accept or reject the plan. I will leave the room while you 
talk it over and make a decision.” 

Deliberations were soon ended. Mr., Heath spoke on 
behalf of the assembly. “Pastor, we want to tell you that 
your offer is a God-send for we would rather trust our boys 
with you than with strangers, who are not interested in their 
home life and surroundings. It means more than that for it 
gives to some the chance to keep up with the others. They 
could not be spared from home yet to go away to school. We 
can not be thankful enough for this opportunity God has 
sent. We appreciate your devotion to our young people 
and will do all in our power- to see that you do' not have to 
give too much time and strength to this undertaking. This 
work will help the community in the future as well as in the 
present. Our pioneer work has been blessed of God, and 
among His greatest gifts is you, our leader, counselor, 
friend.” 

Small wonder that the minister felt that these words were 
a benediction to be treasured and his people felt the same 
about the blessing he asked the Father to give them. 

The different groups were soon on the homeward way 
talking the new plan over. 

“Mother,” Jim asked, “did you ever think God would pay 
you back in the coin you love best, when you worked so hard 
to start our community toward Christ?” 

“Dear lad, no. I supposed it would take years of the 
hardest toil to do what has been accomplished in these few 
years. I surmised that we older ones would be worn out by 
the struggle; that it would require all the faith and grace we 

53 


could gain to help us endure the privations and discourage- 
ment.” 

"You don’t find it an endurance test?” 

“No, for my Lord walks with me all the way and turns 
my darkness into day, and then again it is soaring like the 
eagle, or resting beside still waters.- They that wait upon 
the Lord shall renew their strength.” 

"If they don’t try. to pull all of the burden from Christ’s 
shoulders and carry it alone.” 

"Why, Jim, what a notion! Yet you are right, for one 
can try to bear it alone when He is so willing to help carry 
every load and make it easy to bear.” 

Again pastor and people met in the assembly room. The 
former did not know the object of the meeting, and wondered 
why the words "Whatsoever house ye enter, there abide. The 
laborer is worthy of his hire ; take neither scrip nor staff” 
should float through his mind. He turned his attention to 
the opening remarks of Trustee Thompson: "Pastor, the 
members of the church have decided to make a proposition 
for your careful consideration. They do not expect an 
answer at once, but as soon as you reach a definite conclu- 
sion, they would like to know your decision. If it meets with 
your approval, it is well. In case it does not, we expect a 
proposition from you. The amount we felt should be paid 
for your service was not definitely decided until last night. 
A canvass was made and the amount each family was glad 
to pay was named. We should like to make the report now.” 

McClintock was genuinely surprised at this announce- 
ment. The bishop had told him that he did not know that 
the valley could pa^ a salary. They had paid him small 
amounts from time to time, and he had supposed that was all 
they could do. 

"My people, I came with the assurance that food and 
lodging would be provided. I do not want you to pay me a 
salary. You are making tremendous efforts to reach a 
standard of life that takes all of your combined efforts. We 
will all work together until the time comes when you can 
pay a salary -without hardship to yourselves.” 

"We have wanted a pastor, but we would not do so scan- 
dalous a thing as to ask for one until we could pay him his 
wages. You surely are earning what we have decided to pay 


54 


if it meets with your approval. If you are not satisfied with 
it, feel free to say so and we will see what can be done.” 
He then named a sum of money that they thought a fair 
compensation for each year’s work. This sum would have 
been considered a good salary in any place that McClintock 
knew anything about. He considered the offer for a few 
minutes. At last he spoke : “You are offering too much. I 
know the spirit of sacrifice characteristic of you and your 
families. I could not rest satisfied if I felt that what you 
pay me hindered your plans in any way. This is my home 
now, and I want to help the work along, not hinder it.” 

“Seeing there are no ravens here to supply your needs, 
we feel you should accept a man’s, wage for a man’s job.” 

“There is one part that Thompson left out,” contributed 
Douglas. “We do not want to seem unduly curious about 
your affairs, but if some one up north is waiting for a par- 
sonage home here, we can cull more timber from the forest 
and build a manse.” 

The parson threw back his head and laughed. “There is 
no one. I am not old enough to marry. As I had to make 
my own way, I could not pay attention to any girl. I did not 
have the money to spend that seems to be essential in order 
to give a girl a good time.” 

“There is another matter the mothers wanted brought up 
tonight. They have tried to implant a respect for commence- 
ment and the honor of graduating from a university. They 
feel that if you do not attend your commencement, the young 
folks will think less of it. Your attitude will influence them. 
If you go it will bring inspiration to them when you tell them 
about it. If you do not care to go they may think it of small 
importance.” 

“Go back to it ! Surely I will go back. I did not think I 
could because the only way to get there ‘seemed to be to walk 
back and beg my food and lodging along the way. Since 
you insist on a salary I shall be looking forward to that 
event with the greatest anticipation.” 

The subject was dropped for they understood each other. 
They felt satisfied that they had done what any self-respect- 
ing community would do, and that he was overjoyed at their 
action in the matter. 


55 


The childless couple with whom the minister made his 
home saw a strange sight that evening. They were sitting 
in the moonlit room watching for their boy, as they called 
him when alone. He came running down the walk, swinging 
his cap, and when he was inside the yard under the shadows 
cast by the large chestnut trees, he turned handspring after 
handspring. The watchers understood, for they knew the 
purpose of the meeting. 

“The poor lad,” murmured Mrs. Seaton, “what he 
must have been going through to make him so happy over 
the news.” 

“The lad is a man in most ways. He has had to be a man 
all his life. It is a sign that the valley is doing him good 
when he lets off steam that way. I know he is ready to burst 
because he dare not let out a yell, and I am going to the door 
and be his yell leader.” As he stepped out into the moonlight 
McDonald became to all appearances the sedate minister. 

“Let her go, lad. Three cheers for the valley people and 
what’s the matter with them?” Seaton’s voice rang out in a 
yell that was loud enough to reach the group on their home- 
ward way. They shouted in answer, after they had heard 
the church, the valley and themselves cheered in turn. 

“What’s the matter with McClintock? He’s all right. 
Who’s all right?” Cheer after cheer followed until it spread 
to every home, and horns and bells joined in the tpmult. 

After the loud noise had subsided the call ; The dominie’s 
going to stay ! The dominie’s going to stay” echoed and 
re-echoed from house to house. 

“Of course he’s going to stay. You couldn’t pry him out 
of the valley with crowbars,” McClintock shouted back when 
a lull in the noise gave him his chance. And all the noise 
broke loose again for the boys had been afraid that someone 
would take their preacher away from them. It was the 

valley’s welcome home to one of its family. “Bless the 

lad,” said more than one voice, while the Seatons hugged and 
patted him and dared for the first time to call him their own 
dear lad. He straightway called them father and mother, 

and they were the happiest family anywhere around for the 

son they had always wanted had been given them, and “the 
solitary had been set in a family.” 


56 


CHAPTER VIIL 


Mrs. McDonald’s prayer that she might find out who sent 
the papers was answered. She was a Miss Phebe Sheldon. 
She had been obliged to give up school-teaching because ot 
bronchial trouble that resulted from an attack of pneumonia". 
As she could not give to missions, she sent all of the papers 
and good magazines that were given her to this school in the 
south. The postage was all she could give to home missions, 
and knowing the good that good reading matter does, she 
prayed earnestly that they might do the work a home mission 
worker would have done if one had been sent. 

The McDonalds had finished reading a short letter from 
her that Miss Love had forwarded to them. 

Mrs. McDonald called her the evangelist of that region 
because the literature had done such effective service. 

It was merry little Rose who suggested a way to show 
gratitude for what she had done, and, incidentally to return 
a hundredfold in this life. 

“If she isn’t well, why don’t you write and tell her to 
come here and stay. The air does make people well. She 
could visit everybody and have a good time.” 

“She hasn’t the money to come,” remarked practical 

Jim. 

“We ought to send it to her,” Mrs. McDonald said. “The 
valley owes her the chance to get well, and more than that. 
We can not do too much for her. I have talked with the 
other mothers and all of them have wished they could do 
something for her. We will take it up at the mother’s meet- 
ing tomorrow afternoon and arrange to have her come if she 
will.” 

“I’ll tell them about it at the father’s meeting in the 
evening” announced Mr. McDonald. 

“It’s as good as settled as far as we can settle it,” re- 
marked Hetty. 

A letter was soon winging its way northward containing 
the proposition that they hoped would enable them to make 

^ 57 


return for a part of what had been done for them. The 
letter told how much she had done for them, and how much 
they wanted to do for her to repay her in a small measure 
for the benefits they had received. No better way could be 
seen to render to the Lord for. all His benefits, than to pay 
her expenses to the valley and furnish her a living as long as 
she cared to stay. If at any time she wished to go back, they 
would pay the expenses of the return trip. A cordial wel- 
come and loving care were assured. 

She took the letter to her physician, who was a wise 
friend. 

“Go at once. The sooner the better for your chances to 
make a complete recovery.” 

“Suppose I shouldn’t get well, but die among strangers, 
penniless.” 

“They will give you Christian burial. You may take it 
for granted. They are too tactful to tell you that, if they 
thought of it. Their firm determination seems to be to get 
you well. The air down there is lifegiving. You will think 
that you never breathed pure air before when you fill your 
lungs with the piney fragrance that comes from the trees. 
And the mountain water ! I wish I could have a supply of it. 
There is no other water half as good. Don’t let your stub- 
born pride stand in the way. It is the very climate I should 
have advised if you could have afiforded the trip and here 
you have paid for it in advance without consulting me. 

That little girl school teacher needs you. Think of her 
undertaking to do all she is doing. You will soon be well 
enough to take part of the older pupils and she has all she 
ought to do in her domestic science work and teacher train- 
ing. Those people are bright and apply themselves to study 
for they love it. There was a fellow named McDonald from 
some valley down in that state who went to college when I 
did. We were close friends. He could assimilate and digest 
more studies than any four of us. The boys used to say he 
‘ate ’em up alive.’ He married a girl graduate at the end 
of his college career. She was of Scotch-Irish parentage, 
and possessed the most courage and executive ability of any 
girl I ever saw. When she made up her mind that anything 
ought to be done, she had us all doing her way. She made 

58 


US see that it was the right way. We were always helped in 
the doing, and the school was benefited.” 

“That sounds like the things Miss Love has told me about 
these people, in her letters. Was the school in Indiana?” 

“It was, but the valley didn’t have any name that I can 
recall. You find out if they are the same people and let me 
know. If they are they will consider it a privilege to do for 
you. What you did must have been of more real help than 
it would have been if you had sent them a million dollars. 
It has done so much for them that you ought to consent 
ungrudgingly to be a generous receiver.” 

‘T believe I will. I am proud of my independence, but it 
is better to accept than to be laid aside in my prime. I have 
been praying for a place where I can regain my health and 
find work.” 

“The Heavenly Father remembers that you are of more 
value than many sparrows. He has looked out for you and 
for the ones you go to, for go you should. Accept the answer 
to your prayer, if it does not come in the form of a position 
with a stated salary. They will not make you feel dependent. 
The letter makes that plain. God leads in different ways than 
we choose, but they are always better ways. When you 
obeyed His command to ‘Give and it shall be given you,’ 
you gave all you could. You had always been liberal. Now, 
you are to receive what shall be given you. It is God’s 
return gift. I believe you will be led into larger service for 
Him than you have ever known. Get some earnest girls 
here to take up your work with the literature, and send it to 
places where it is needed. I have never told you that it was 
an article in a sarnple magazine that led me to find a way 
to go to school, aiid afterward to medical school. No min- 
ister could tell of more instances of God answering prayer 
than I could tell from my own life. Poverty tried hard to 
bind me down.” 

“I will go. I’ll start as soon as I can. Thank you, doctor. 
You’ve helped me more than you know you have.”^ 

“Be sure to write me if those are my friends. We 
couldn’t write to each other in the old days because we 
couldn’t afford the postage. If they are my old friends, my 
wife and I will spend our vacation with them next summer.” 


59 


CHAPTER IX. 

A second winter had come before Bob told the straight- 
forward story of his aims and what he had done. Tersa and 
he were sitting in front of the fireplace. The rest of the 
family were at the social center. Books were laid aside, an'd 
she watched her brother daintily finishing a carving of a 
bird’s nest. She looked more closely and saw that the nest 
was resting on a branch of Mountain Ash. 

“You are making that design from the bird’s nest that 
was in the Ash by the back porch last summer. Did you save 
the nest and branch?” 

“No, I started the panel in the summertime. It was all 
done but the finishing before the birds left.” 

“Did you draw it, or just look at it?” 

“No, I did not draw the design. I watched the bird and 
branch until I knew how they looked when my eyes were 
shut, then I commenced to carve them.” 

“I don’t see how you can.” 

“I don’t know whether I can tell you or not. I’ve always 
been out in the woods more than the rest of you and I always 
wanted to whittle sticks into birds and flowers and all of 
those things. One day I was whittling a rabbit. I was alone 
on the river bank. Rudolph Erlach, our Swiss friend that 
lives alone on the side of the mountain, came along and saw 
what I was doing before I knew he was there. He showed 
me how to make it better. He liked the way I learned what 
he taught me. He asked me up to his house the next Sunday 
afternoon. He showed me carving that he had done. It 
was great. The house was full of furniture and a big build- 
ing beside it was filled. All of it was carved beautifully. 
There were panels to put in the walls of rooms. He said 
some one would buy it all some day. I wish you would go 
there with me soon. The walls and ceilings of the house 
are solid paneling. I can’t describe it, but Gerry Mack says 
it is fit ‘for the congressional library at Washington.” 

“Who says so?” The unfamiliar name puzzled Tersa. 


60 


“McClintock.” 

“The pastor? Why, Bob.” 

“He wants us boys to call him that. You don’t suppose 
he wears his pulpit airs with us fellows, do you. Well, Swissy 
liked the way I fell for his work and wanted to teach me. 

I had no tools, but he made some for me. The rest of you 
can be what you want to be, but I am a woodcarver and 
that is what I am going to be.”, 

“Good for you. I like something different myself, that 
is why I am going to keep on till I am president of a college. 
That will be something different for this part of the state.” 

“Something of a backset for the folks who wrote that 
this part of the state was the most illiterate spot in the coun- 
try. Won’t you want to quit teaching and get married? You 
won’t? That’s funny. Hetty will. She has had a hope 
chest for a year. I am making a real chest for her, but it won’t 
be done this Christmas.” 

“No, Bob, I don’t believe I shall ever marry. I’ve never 
told any of the rest of our folks, but I feel about school- 
teaching the way Tom does about preaching, that it is my 
lifeworH I never see anything in the future but other folks’ 
boys and girls that I am trying to train. I shall have a home 
if I live after father and mother are gone, because I love a 
home, and I can help more young people if I have a real 
home to welcome them to.” 

“How are you going to market your work? I am inter- 
ested in that.” 

“Gerry Mack knows some people who are planning a 
home. He wrote about Swissy and I, and we sent samples 
of our carving. Swissy asked the folks after he came here, 
as soon as he could talk enough to be understood, where he 
could find a market. They all thought nobody would buy 
so he has farmed enough to make a living, and send a little 
back across the sea. He kept on carving, and now I guess 
he will make something out of what father and the other 
men thought was a waste of time.” 

“Hasn’t Mr. McClintock heard anything from those 

folks?” .. ^ f 

“Yes, but nothing worth mentioning. Do you think this 

panel would do in a house?” 

61 


“It would be lovely. If I had a home I should love to 
have a room that had wall panels like that. I should have it 
for my study.” 

“You would? What would you, put on the other panels, 
supposing you liked the outdoors, and wanted the room to 
make you feel as though you were outdoors when you had 
to stay in it?” 

“I’d have that panel right in front of my reading chair. 
On one side I’d have bluebirds and apple blossoms, and on 
the other, bobolinks and grasses. That would be one side of 
the room.” 

“You wouldn’t want crows flying over com?” 

“No, I don’t think so. Crows over corn seem lonesome 
to me.” 

“Lonesome?” Bob’s tone expressed wonder. “Why, crows 
are company when you have to be out in the field alone in 
the fall. It would be lonesome without them. They caw 
and answer a fellow when they get used to him. Two of 
them hung around all fall, and they come when I go to the 
woods now. Funny that you get lonesome when you see 
them, and I get lonesome if I don’t.” 

“What else would you put in the room?” 

‘T don’t think I should put those things you spoke of in 
the room I’m planning. Swissy and I don’t plan like that.” 

“How do you plan ?” 

“We plan from the things we like to see. One panel has 
crows flying over growing corn ; another has bluebirds and 
pussy willows ; a third has a chipmunk on chestnuts and 
leaves ; the fourth is two bobolinks on oats. The long one 
for over the mantel has rabbits playing in clover, and butter- 
flies flying above them. One over the desk has squirrels and 
jays quarreling in branches of pine cones. The last one is 
of the squirrel that chased around in that cherry tree. You 
remember how he used to sit on a branch away up in the 
top of the tree and eat cherries ? I carved that. Gerry 
says it is so real he can almost hear the squirrel chatter. We 
sent those, if they suit, may be they will like others.” He 
was well satisfied with the choice Tersa had described, for 
he hoped to make a desk and panellings for her, a piece at a 
time, to be given at Christmas or birthdays. 


62 


“When will you know if they take them?” 

“Can’t tell. If it takes him a long time to make up his 
mind, and see if they are as good as others he can get, or if 
he is awa'y, it will take longer. Then the answer has to come 
back. Gerry says we just have to sit tight and wait, but I 
wish I knew now.” 

“I wish so, too. If he takes them you will be rich.” 

“Slow way to riches. Swissy will furnish the most pan- 
elling. Gee, I hope he takes them and wants my furniture. 
If he takes, we are sure of a market. Gerry says he’s the 
kind of a fellow that advertises by telling his pals where he 
got it. That is his way of helping to develop American art 
and industries. He buys good American home-made articles, 
and gets other folks to do the same.” 

“I like that in him. It seems so patriotic.” 

“You know how your dressing table and father’s and 
mother’s desk look. I’ve made a lot of other furniture like it. 
O, I don’t mean a' truck load, but there’s a bunch of it.” 

“Where is it? I haven’t seen it.” 

“Why, it’s in my shop. Yes, I said shop. It’s that little 
house you call my den down there in the grove. Yes, I made 
it myself. O'f course, I did. You needn’t be so surprised,” 
although he knew very well that it was a complete surprise. 
“Did you think the rest of you could do all the things you 
are doing, and I have nothing to show but the work on the 
farm ? That’s where you are all wrong.” 

“You never told me. Do our parents know about it?” 

“Sure they do. Do you think anything could be going 
on around this farm and them not know anything about it? 
I wanted them to know. Mother thinks I fritter my time 
away, but they decided they could use the furniture I made 
when the rest of you went to housekeeping, so they let me 
keep on, provided it did not interfere with my share of the 
farm work, and I studied and recited to them. It works all 
right. Study and farm work are easy for me because I 
always learn something that helps me with this. They help 
me to think and plan better. I have seen in a flash what 
would fill some place I needed a different design for, or the 
whole scheme of a room has worked out while I was plowing 
or reaping.” 


63 


“Our family seems to have diversified talents. I am 
surely proud to have such a genius of our very own. You 
have been given a gift from God.” 

“That’s what I think.” The boy turned with a look of 
exaltation on his face. “That is the way I feel about it. God 
gave me this work to do and I must do it. It calls me. When 
they were so opposed to it, I quit, but I couldn’t stay quit. 
Father finally told me to keep on with it, and mother stopped 
showing me advertisements of factory furniture at low prices 
and giving me readings on the earnestness of life, and the 
nobility of labor.” 

“Maybe they see it differently, and maybe they are letting 
you follow your own bent, not quite sure how it will turn out. 
They may not praise for the same reason that they never 
praised any of us very much. They believe with the psalm- 
ist that our works praise us, and we have our reward in see- 
ing the result.” 

“Likely you are right. All the same I’m glad you said 
what you did. It helps a lot to have home folks believe in me. 
I meant to give each of you a piece of furniture for Christ- 
mas. Gerry said I had better try to sell it. That all I could 
sell now would advertise my work better. He was sure' 
all of you would feel the same way if you understood. Won’t 
it be great if he does buy?” Bob’s mind kept turning back 
to what meant to him keeping on with his loved work or 
putting it aside and only doing it once in a while. 

“Does Swissy have any share in your furniture?” 

“Not so that you’d notice it. He never saw most of the 
pieces till they were done. He taught me, but he don’t want 
pay for it. He said it was so good to have company ; some 
one who loved to make the things. He has one room that 
he fitted up like a furniture dealer does a big window. He 
said when. any one wanted to buy they could see it better; 
the panels are fastened so they can be taken off. The fur- 
niture is Swiss ; like in best room over there. There is a 
queer settle, stools, chairs and a table. He even has a fire- 
place of split boulders. He can’t take that out, but he has 
the stones ready for one just like it.” 

“If he sells will he go back to Switzerland?” 


64 


“Not on your life. He is a citizen of the U. S. A. He 
has two little orphan grandchildren over there. He couldn’t 
make enough money to send for them. He sent th>e little tie 
made to pay for their keep. We never knew about it till I 
taught him to speak and read and write English to pay for 
my lessons. I guess the folks would all help if they knew, 
but he is working it out his own way. He has always been 
confident that somebody would come here and buy his goods, 
after he found he couldn’t send them to be sold. The boy has 
learned carving and the girl is making some sort of fancy 
stuff that will help out in the rooms.” ^ 

“Why didn’t he work on the farms and get the money?” 
“He got sick coming over and has never been strong till 
lately. That’s why. They are good kids. He tells me what 
is in the letters he gets once in awhile. They pray and believe 
that God will let them come over. Religion is just the same 
when folks really have it.” 

• The return of the others stopped further conversation. 
No chance came to speak to him about it again until two 
weeks later, when they met at the gate one day after school. 


65 


CHAPTER X. 


“Any word yet?” 

“No, and we both looked for it today. Wox wouldn't 
believe at first that there wasn’t a letter. Swissy was sure 
there was one. He was all excited and kept saying Tt is 
coming; the word is coming; it is a good word.’ I just left 
him. The last words he said were ‘We hear tonight,’ but we 
can’t, you know. He always has been right before when he 
was sure something was going to happen. A cog has slipped 
somewhere and tied it up.” 

“Maybe you will. Word might come over the telephone.” 

“Not likely. Hello, there’s Gerry Mack by the living room 
window. Wonder what he comes so often for?” • 

The pastor had brought a friend, an old school friend, 
sure of welcome. The newcomers gave him the cordial wel- 
come characteristic of the house of McDonald and Winthrop 
McDerwent knew it was sincere. 

The supper and the conversation that accompanied it 
were a treat to the guest, although he was accustomed to 
the best of both. Questions that were arousing the attention 
of thinking people everywhere, were discussed with wisdom 
and foresight. Where did they get the breadth of view and 
powers of discrimination? Mr. McDonald talked like a 
statesman and the* other members of the household showed 
an intelligent understanding of each subject. No superficial 
views were presented ; every remark left the impression that 
the subjects were understood. 

After supper Gerry asked if Bob had seen Erlach.” 

“I came from there at supper time.” 

In reply to a question as to what he was doing when Bob 
left, he replied that he was looking for word from the north. 
He was sure the carrier would have a letter from the noon 
train.” but he didn’t and I never knew Swissy to fail before 
when he was so sure something was going to happen.” 

“He must have been right this time,” observed McDer- 
went. 


66 


“He simply couldn’t fail this time,” affirmed McClintock. 
"Call him over. I am sure his answer is somewhere near.” 

Bob seated himself by the fireplace and his face settled into 
stubborn lines. They could have all of the fun out of it 
they could get, but he wasn’t going to join in against his 
friend. 

“Rose can call him. Perhaps you have a wireless” scoffed 
Bob. 

“Please do. Rose,” requested McDerwent, “I am sure it 
came on the noon train and the carrier brought it over.” 

Bob was quick to sense that there was something he did 
not understand. 

“Did he lose it and you fellows find it? If you did why 
didn’t you give it to me as soon as you came,” and the im- 
patience Bob showed for the first time gave the others an 
inkling of the suspense he was enduring. 

“We must have Swissy. You know he is your partner in 
one sense,” reminded Gerry. 

“All right,” was the brief answer and Bob made no 
further remark, but gave his attention to a piece of wood 
he was fashioning into a snowbird. 

The others kept up the conversation until Erlach arrived 
all smiles and breathless. 

“You ran all the way?” Tom asked. 

“Sure. I waited so many years. First to send for my 
children ; then they are dead and I want my grandchildren. 
When the good news is here, then I hurry for I want my little 
ones.” 

“It may not be good news,” cautioned Mr. McDonald, 
who could not take it in that there could be much of any- 
thing in it. 

“It is good news. I know since Thursday.” 

“Yes, it is good news,” McDerwent assured him. “I am 
the man who has your carvings. I was away from the city 
and did not reach home until Thursday. I found them on my 
return and knew at once they were what I wanted. They are 
much better than I had thought they could be. In fact they 
are equal to any I have seen in the old world. If you are 
satisfied with the price I offer I will buy them. I am eager 
to see more of your work, whenever you are ready to show 
it to me.” 


67 


“All right” Bob answered. “We will go right down to 
the shop, then we can go and see Swissy’s.” 

In this matter of fact way Bob took the news that he 
had been recognized as one of earth’s great geniuses. 

McDerwent piarvelled ; the words of praise and appre- 
ciation hushed on his lips. 

“He takes it as a matter of course,” he said to Gerry as 
they walked toward the shop. 

“Outwardly, but he is alive inside. As far as I know 
he 'has had no words of praise, with the exception of those 
I have given him. He has lived so close to nature and 
nature’s God that he has understood that he possesses a great 
gift. It is his simple, straightforward, nature that shows 
itself now but look at that Swiss caper.” 

Erlach was making up for Bob’s quiet acceptance. He 
was skipping about, keeping time to a tune he was whistling, 
when suddenly he commenced to yodel. 

“Genuine mountaineer all right. That’s the way they do 
that in the Alps,” was McDerwent’s comment. 

“Ah !” The long drawn out exclamation was the only 
sound that McDerwent made as he looked about the room 
in the shop that Bob led them to. Walls and ceilings were 
covered with panels of delicate carving, the furniture corre- 
sponded. It was like, and in a way unlike, work that he had 
admired in Europe. The difference was in theJ designs. 
Vines covered with the open seedpods of bittersweet, twined 
around chestnut burrs, late asters and goldenrod. It was a 
simple design but the arrangement was perfect, while the 
carving was exquisite. “What is this wood ?” 

“Basswood or Linden.” 

“Where did you get the design?” 

“I made the furniture a- little different from the pictures 
in a magazine.” 

“Yes, I notice a difference in it and the furniture I have 
seen, but the design of these decorations. ‘ Where did you 
get them ?” 

“Where they grew.” 

“You mean that vou copied these from nature?” 

“Yes.” 

“They look alive. It is “perfect.” 


68 


“Ihey were alive when 1 used them. ^That long vine ot 
bittersweet grew along the limb of the tree.” 

“Bittersweet is a bush, isn’t it?” 

‘‘Not this kind. It is a vine.” 

The boy is an artist,” breathed McDerwent to his friend. 

Yes, he has not only the eye and skill but the soul of 
one.” 

‘‘He has great creative genius. This is remarkable work.” 
Bob threw open a door and exhibited another room full of 
his work. 

“I want it,” McDerwent announced after he had looked 
at it carefully. He turned to Bob’s parents. “Mr. and Mrs. 
McDonald, you are the parents of a genius. His work is 
equal to any I have seen and I have made it my business to 
see all I could of the best, in the old and new world. His 
creative genius makes it seem a marvel that, living here away 
from all artistic influence, such work should be produced. 
He has had one of the best teachers, but he is richly en- 
dowed.” 

“We have seen that he did good work, but we did not 
realize that it is as good as you say. If he is a genius he 
has developed the way God develops most of that kind with 
nature for the first teacher. Son, I am sorry we did not 
understand about your work : that it is a lifework.” 

“That’s all right. I thought you would understand some 
day. I never could give it up, though I tried when you were 
so down on it.” 

His mother drew^ him into her arms and kissed him ten- 
derly. “Bobby, my little man. I am sorry that I couldn’t 
'see it was a God-given talent. I ought to have helped you, 
but I didn’t understand.” 

“That’s all right,” again answered the tall broad shoul- 
dered fellow. “You thought I should be a farmer, and it 
looked to you like a waste of time and strength to see me 
working with my woods. You had so much to do to get the 
rest started and keep them going, that perhaps God took care 
of starting me, because he saw you had all you could do to 
help prepare the rest for their lifework.” 

‘T wonder,” murmured McDerwent. 

“He did a good job wflliout your help,” teased Tom who 
enjoyed his brother’s vindication. The approval of a man 

69 


of McDerwent’s ability to judge the best, made him think 
of the times she had upbraided' Bob for his shiftless waste 
of time and strength. ^ 

“Yes, he did a much better job than I could have done.” 

“You will have to take a little credit, for you used to talk 
with me about the way God made the birds and flowers and 
put each part together, when I was a little chap. That started 
me to finding the different parts. You taught me a Heavenly 
Father’s love of the beautiful and the nicety of the designs’ 
‘each in its order and each in its place.’ ” 

“Mother scores again,” laughed Jim. 

Erlach urged them to come over to his house and see 
what he had. 

“It is eleven o’clock,” expostulated Mrs. McDonald. 
“Tersa must go to bed and so must all the others. The boys 
will have to get an early start back to school in the morning.” 

“All the more reason why we should go tonight. You 
womenfolks can go to bed. We shouldn’t sleep if we did. It 
will be three weeks before we are home again, and we want 
10 know how this goes.” 

“Yes, yes,” urged Swissy, who had been waiting as pa- 
tiently as he could. “All the boys my good friends. Let all 
the boys come please.” 

McDerwent added his word: “I should take it as a per- 
sonal favor if you would consent. A part of my errand is 
to find someone who can take up Christian work in a very 
illiterate community. I believe your son Tom is the one to 
take up this work. It is not so far from here. A friend of 
mine read a letter of Gerry’s telling how work is done here. 
He wants to try it from the start. He will finance it. The 
help this will be to your son is inestimable. He can begin in 
the summer vacation and work till time for school each fall 
until he makes it a permanent work, if he wants to undertake 
it.” 

“Take them along. The ride in the fresh air may make 
up for some of the sleep they lose, and they are strong lads.” 

“Your son will do his part better in the world if his 
strength is conserved by the help my friend wants to give 
him. He is financing the work in another locality. The re- 
sults are most encouraging. A home missionary struggling 

70 


along without adequate financial support for the work he 
could do if he had a little money is seriously handicapped, 
and often gives health, sometimes life in the struggle. My 
friend has built and equipped a combined school and church, 
furnished a library and other things needed. These help 
the preacher do ten times the work he could do without 
them. He sent farm machinery that is passed from one 
farmer to another. They work together and the spirit of 
helpful service develops.” 

McDerwent’s surprise when he saw that they were to 
ride behind a tractor, was genuine. 

“What will you wonderful people show me next?” 

“The scenery by moonlight,” promised Tom. 

Erlach’s home was a greater surprise. “It is a Swiss 
chalet,” he exclaimed. “There are the balconies, and the 
outside stairway under the wide projecting roof. That is a 
good -example of the better class of Swiss homes. You boys 
have grown up with a piece of architecture that many have 
to cross the sea to find.” 

~ After they had seen all the house contained they sat down 
to talk it over. “Would you come back home with me and 
build a fireplace like that in my home?” 

“Yes, if you like.” 

“How much of this furniture will you sell?” 

“All of it.” 

“All? You will have nothing left for yourself.” 

“Yes. I have enough left that' I will never sell.” 

“Could you get paneling ready like this?” 

“I have much panelling; much furniture stored away. I 
work, work from early morning till late evening.” 

“We will come tomorrow and see more.” 

“Sure thing.” 

“I will buy what is in these four rooms, perhaps more.” 

“O, then I send for the little ones quick. It takes letter 
so long to go, and so long for them to come. Will you fix 
it so I send this week?” 

After receiving answers to questions, McDerwent said ; 
“I have a friend in Switzerland. If you let me send to him, 
your grandchildren can get here quicker than if you sent a 
letter.” 


71 


He consented gladly after the matter was explained to 
him. 

“You send for them. The little ones are alone working 
in the village. I want the little ones here.” 

“Think of it, that with these priceless things all around 
him he had a son and daughter die from hard work and priva- 
tion. The little ones may be overworked and underfed. 
Gerry, I’m going to start things flying tomorrow to get those 
children over here just as soon as I can, if I have to send my 
agent over after them.” 

“Mac, I know now why you are the steward of so much 
money. Your Lord knew He could trust you with it for his 
other children, who hadn’t had a fair start.” 

“You do much for me, I give you these,” and Erlach 
placed little cabinets of exquisite workmanship in the hands 
of McDerwent and Gerry. 

They understood and accepted the gifts in the sjiirit in 
which they were given. 

“Won’t the future Mrs. Gerry like this on her living room 
table,” chuckled the paVson. “We’ll always keep them to 
remember you by.” 

“Sure, I always remember you, too.” 

“Whew!” from Jim when they were putting the tractor 
away. “Swissy is rich and our Bob has a bigger sum of 
money than I ever thought he would have.” 

“You mean he will have. What you going to do with it. 
Bob?” 

“I want to buy that tract of land across the river so that 
it shall not be cleared for farming. I’ll make a payment on 
it with the money I get. Then I’ll build a house and live 
there and conserve the wood I need for carving. I can go 
on with my work and study nature for new designs and in- 
spiration all my days. I couldn’t if I stayed here for the 
dorests are being cleared away too fast.” 

“But you’re not going to live alone?” 

“No, when father can get along without me I’ll be old 
enough to marry.” 

“Who?” 

“The girl who has always believed I wasn’t shiftless,” 
and that ended the information the boys were able to get. 

72 


To think,” grumbled the boys at the before daylight 
breakfast the next morning, “we’ve got to go back to school 
and leave this history in the making for three weeks. It’s 
a shame.” 

Why couldn’t he have come sooner, then we could have 
known all about it.” 

“Console yourself Tom, with the thought that your work 
among rough mountaineers is to be speeded along by the 
help of a new schoolhouse, and many other things that we 
had not hoped for.” 

“Mother and father, pray hard, that nothing may hap- 
pen to make this help fail. It’s going to mean so much 
to the work.” 

“God won’t fail you, lad. We have been praying that 
some of the Lord’s silver and gold should be sent to help 
start and carry on your work in the new place. Just keep 
on the way you are, and God will send the help you need.” 

“Maybe there is someone who can go down now, if the 
gentleman wants to start the work at once. He has some- 
one who can teach, if not preach, and it is sorely needed.” 

“I am going up there the next two Sundays with a boy 
from there who is at school. The folks sent word for me 
to come and start preaching now.” 

“Why didn’t you tell us before?” 

“I thought I would wait and see if I could preach a little 
to them. I feel that it is my place to work, and that God 
will help me for he sent the call. It seemed an accident that 
this fellow and I were studying the same subject, and that 
led us to talk on the way home from the library one eve- 
ning.” 

“Here,” said Hettie, placing a box beside him. “This 
is full of picture and scripture cards, and primary papers. 
You must have been the one the children brought them for.” 

“Good. I can use them. He says they haven’t anvthing 
at all.” 

“The valley must go right to work and fix up a box for 
Christmas,” Tersa declared. “I will start them right away, 
and such a box ! Big and full of things useful, things sweet, 
and things to play with.” 

“The work is begun. Then helped everyone his neighbor 
and the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that 

73 


sniootheth with the hammer, and him that worketh the anvil, 
till it was ready for the soldering, and they fastened it with 
nails that it should not be moved,” read their father at morn- 
ing prayers. “May we. Lord, always be as ready to help 
others as we are now, and may Thy spirit go before into the 
valley and prepare the people for the message that God is 
their friend,” he prayed. 

Rudolph Erlach could hardly believe that the large sum 
McDerwent paid was all his. When assured that Bob had 
been paid separately, he insisted that the money was too much. 
Convinced at last, he saM brokenly : “O, if my wife and chil- 
dren could have had some of this they would be alive yet.” 

“That’s the sorrow of the world, that money always comes 
too late for some who should share in it,” sympathized Mc- 
Clintock. 

McDerwent turned the man’s thoughts away from the de- 
pressing subject by asking him to build a chalet for him. 

“I like to live here ; rather stay by good friends I know 
long time. Nice folks for the little ones to know.” 

‘Tf I can find a piece of land for sale I will have it built 
here on the side of the mountain.” 

Bob told him of land for sale. 

“Father had a letter from the owner. He used to live 
here. He wants to sell and the price is reasonable.” 

“I’ll see your father about it today. Now, Erlach, will 
you build a house like yours for me?” 

“Sure, sure, if Jim draw the plan, we make it fine.” 

“Inquiry satisfied McDerwent that Jim was the architect 
he wanted, and he telephoned him that evening.” 

“Glad you can put work in Jim’s way. He is a steady, 
capable fellow, and there is little of the work here that he 
is best qualified to do. I do not know if he will be an architect, 
but he has done all of that work on the community build- 
ings. His work will be satisfactory to you, and the pay will 
be a Godsend to him.” 

“If he is like the. rest of the family he will be accurate in 
anything he undertakes. I shall be glad to secure his help. 
The secret of their success is that they seem to know the 
work they are best adapted to do and stick to it, and give 
it their best efforts even when they see no chance for ad- 
vancement.” 


74 


‘‘Gerry, will you explain this people to me? What is 
the cause of their simple greatness? What makes them dif- 
ferent? I have visited different localities in the interest of 
Americanizing the people, but I never saw anything that^could 
have been like these valley people were at any stage. I came 
to buy more, if I liked it and the work was good. I thougnt 
they had sent their best, but find they have some even better. 
I intended to visit you for a little while, then go back. Here 
it is over two weeks since I came. I never saw people I liked 
as well. 'If my wife and baby were here I should not want 
to leave.” 

“Then come and live with us.” 

“Til think it over, if the spell of the valley holds I shall 
make it my home. I like the life here. What makes it the 
way it is ? There is something different back of it all.” 

‘‘God and the McDonalds. They have had the faith that 
removes mountains of difficulty. They made their rec[uests 
known unto God, and as their prayers were answered, He 
gave them visions of what he was willing to do for them 
and for others through them. When they needed outside 
help, God sent a lady to the valley. They were automobiling 
and turned in at the valley entrance. It was not the way they 
meant to go at all. The beautiful scenery attracted them and 
they motored here, not realizing that they had lost their way. 
They stopped at the McDonalds and were their guests for 
some time. They were interested in the family and wanted 
to send Tersa to the mission school. Mr. McDonald told his 
wife it was the answer to their prayers and they dare not 
refuse it. Tom took Tersa to school. The principal was 
attracted to them. Tom asked her about the studies and for 
something to read. She gave him some papers and maga- 
zines. When she saw how eager he was, and how intelligent 
the questions were that he asked, she gladly gave him a large 
bundle of reading matter to take home. 

“Our teacher, Miss Sheldon, had collected all the papers 
and magazines she could get and supplied the school. They 
proved to be the counselor and guide the people needed. 
They were read to tatters and many of them memorized, 
and you see the results. The valley’s undeveloped resources 
have been found and developed. Value has been seen in 


75 


things they thought worthless. Their fragments, as they call 
the things they made what use of they could and let the 
rest go to waste, have been conserved, and used to pay for 
educations. They make the most rapid progress in their 
studies of any people I ever saw. They give back in good 
measure. A chance, is sent them to help those who have 
helped them. Miss Sheldon was sick and would have died 
in the north, her physician said when he and his. wife spent 
their vacation here last summer. When the valley people 
heard of her poor health, they brought her here, for she 
was almost destitute, and she regained her health. She is 
a teacher of unsurpassed ability. But it is God back of all 
of them that has been the great power. He loves them, and 
they love Him. They seem to me to be the' type that God 
loves best, for they love Him so.” 

Looking across the fields ’ as they stood thinking over 
God’s valley people, McClintock saw Bob standing watch- 
ing some object. Whipping a pair of field glasses out of his 
pocket, he watched him for a short time, then handed the 
glasses to his friend. 

“Visualizing that blue] ay and crow. He will put them 
somewhere and there will be the life in their lines that he 
sees now. God’s pupil.” 

“It is the education every youth could receive if our artifi- 
cial systems were done away with, and individual, traits and 
tendencies given a chance.” 

The years go, by in the valley, and what Jim and little 
Rose are to be is finally told to Tersa, but you must wait 
till later to know. Tom and Mary are in their home in their 
community, and it is turning to Christ. 

Swissy’s little ones are with him, although they were not 
so very little, as they were at the teen age, and they are a 
loving family living in comfort and happiness. 

Gerald McClintock has stayed among his people although 
there have been calls from other places. He found the worTc 
of keeping lives pure, and educating children, well worth his 
earnest help. He has a wife who understands the aims and 
ambitions of their parishioners as fully as he. She is as- 
greatly beloved as her husband, which is another unusual 
circumstance 


76 


“Tersa McDonald?” 

No, indeed. Don’t you remember what Tersa said about 
her calling ? It was not idle talk. Her life is given to it. 
If it wasn’t Tersa, who would it be but Hettie? You haven’t 
heard so much about her? No, but she was doing her part 
just the same. Can you think of a McDonald who wouldn’t 
be ? 

She was quite as remarkable in her way as the others 
were in theirs. She worked with her mother at home, with 
the exception of three or four months each year, then she 
was in college. She could have kept on with her studies at 
home, since more teachers were employed in the school, but 
it seemed best for her to learn of life outside the valley while 
she was free to go. Home economics was succeeded by Eng- 
lish. Entrance examinations were passed with credit, and 
she was a prized pupil. Her early 'training and studying at 
home each year qualified her to judge of the worth while. 

It was a summing up of the futility of Christian work 
in the university where she spent her last years as a student, 
that gave McClintock an insight into the depths of her mind 
and character. 

“Our valley must have a college,” she asserted, ‘Tor we 
cannot let our boys and girls go to these places where religion 
is a form, and they lose the faith and Christian experience out 
of their lives. They cannot take part in a young people’s 
meeting in most cases. About one in each dozen can pray. 
A few more speak as if they were discussing a literary sub- 
ject. In fact, some of them speak in meetings for the help 
it is to them in learning to speak to an audience. They fairly 
chatter on frivolous subjects, but many of them act like im- 
beciles when they are asked to take part in a meeting.” 

“What did you do about it?” 

“I did something,” was all the answer given. 

He knew she had done the work that had raised many 
lives to a higher spiritual plane and made students see that 
Jesus Christ was a friend to 'honor, not excuse. He consulted 
With her often about his work, and the college that was to 
be endcHwed. It was she who introduced the subject of the 
college at the United Valley’s Convention. Her speech was 
notable for its logic and eloquence, as she gave the reasons 


77 


why the need of this work was great. She convinced the 
audience that she was right, and every delegate pledged sup-- 
port to the project. Yes, Hettie, the girl who chose to stay 
and help mother, had been trained by the close association 
with that mother, and given a practical insight into the best 
way to help community and state. Did she get a college that 
would stand the test of the comparison of its work with that 
of other colleges? Most assuredly she did. It stands today 
and will endure till the end. In all of our acquaintance with 
the McDonalds has one of them ever failed to go over the 
top in any offensive, or defensive started? 

A letter from a man who knew Hettie asking for an invi- 
tation to spend his vacation with his old friend made Mc- 
Clintock realize what Hettie had become to him. It read : 
“Miss McDonald is the girl to make a minister’s work a suc- 
cess, spiritually. Bishop Wilding has told me of her and 
her family. I believe she is the wife I want, and I should 
like to come and have the opportunity to become better ac- 
quainted. Let me know if I may come?” There was more 
in the letter, but he forgot all but that part. She would be 
just the wife for a minister. There was no question about 
the wonderful helper she would be, but the valley needed her. 
How could the work go on without her? She had presented 
the cause of the college until every inhabitant was keen for 
it, and working hard to get it soon. There was her gentle 
courtesy, the eloquence that swayed a crowd, then who could 
take her place in the Sabbath school ? Last, but not least, 
what would he do without her? He should have to get along 
if she went with the other fellow, but he couldn’t, then he 
stopped and stood still under a maple and stared across the 
valley, but he never saw Bob wave, or anything else that 
was taking place. “Why not?” he finally asked a robin that 
perched beside him. At least the robin thought he spoke 
to him, and called an answer. Away went the dominie on 
the run. He dashed in to Hettie’s home, through the lower 
rooms and out on the back porch, where she was holding 
a glass of clear jelly to the sunlight to see it reflected in the 
heart of the jelly. 

“O, Hettie, I am glad you are back.” 

“I am glad to be back. It is my last trip for the college 
and I feel is if I did not want to hear of higher learning, or 

78 


face another audience this summer. I don’t think I shall. 
I have earned the right to indulge in a vacation suited to my 
own enjoyment, and I am going to spend it right here put- 
ting up fruit and sewing with mother. We both need each 
other again.” 

“Yes, stay with your mother this summer,^ but won’t you 
come to the manse in September and be its honored mistress 
and my loved wife? I love you Hettie, so dearly. T did 
not know it till a few minutes ago. Do you love me?” 

“Yes, Gerry, I’ve known we loved each other and couldn’t 
be happy with anyone else for some time.” 

“Queer,” said Gerry, “but it don’t matter seeing we ar.i 
both sure nobody else would do.” He was so happy that he 
forgot all about the letter, that had helped him to his happi- 
ness, for six weeks. 



79 




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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


0 001 962 630 lO 


THE VIOUESNEY COMPANY 
TERRE HAUTE. IND. 


